BREAKING: Tester’s Prescription Drug Price Cuts for Montanans Announced Today

Price negotiations on 10 medications from Senator’s Inflation Reduction Act to begin; cuts to take effect in 2026

Montana seniors will see cheaper prescription drug prices on 10 common medications as a direct result of U.S. Senator Jon Tester’s Inflation Reduction Act. Tester’s law will lower the prices of 10 prescription drugs for Montana seniors by securing price negotiation power for Medicare, by allowing Medicare to directly negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies. The negotiating process will begin today, with cuts scheduled to go into effect in 2026.

Tester was the only member of Montana’s congressional delegation to vote for the Inflation Reduction Act.

“Montanans should never have to make the choice between life-saving medication or putting food on the table—and I’m proud to announce that beginning today, we’re lowering the cost of ten of the most common prescription drugs,” said Tester. “I am proud to have stood tough against large pharmaceutical corporations and successfully demand that they stop unnecessarily jacking up prices on folks across the state. Montanans sent me to Washington to deliver results, and I will continue to take on anyone to lower costs.”

Through Tester’s law, Medicare will able to negotiate drug prices on behalf of patients for the ten following drugs:

1. Eliquis – an anticoagulant medication used to treat and prevent blood clots and to prevent stroke.
2. Jardiance – an antidiabetic medication used to improve glucose control in people with type 2 diabetes.
3. Xarelto – used to treat and prevent blood clots. May lower the risk of stroke, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism (PE), and similar conditions.
4. Januvia – used as a once-daily prescription pill that helps lower blood sugar levels in adults with type 2 diabetes.
5. Farxiga – used to treat type 2 diabetes. Also used to treat adults with heart failure and chronic kidney disease.
6. Entresto – is a fixed-dose combination medication for use in heart failure.
7. Enbrel – a biologic medical product that is used to treat autoimmune diseases.
8. Imbruvica – used to treat certain cancers (such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma, Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia).
9. Stelara – used to treat adults 18 years and older with moderately to severely active Crohn’s disease.
10. Fiasp; Fiasp FlexTouch; Fiasp PenFill; NovoLog; NovoLog FlexPen; NovoLog PenFill – insulin.

“Senator Tester continues to stand up for Montana seniors, and his work on the Inflation Reduction Act will help give me the certainty needed to balance my budget,” said Steven L. Harvey, retired Big Timber resident. “These drugs aren’t optional, and are very expensive – and because of Senator Tester’s work, I’ll finally have some much needed peace of mind when getting my prescriptions filled.”

“Today represents another major milestone in what has been a long journey towards finally making medicines affordable for Montanans enrolled in Medicare. Sen. Jon Tester kept his promise to lower health costs by passing this historic reform that will finally enable Medicare to negotiate prices on some of the most expensive medicines in Part D,” said Tully Olson, Executive Director of Big Sky 55+. “Once implemented, over 100,000 Montanans with Part D plans will save money on treating everything from diabetes to cancer and taxpayers can expect to save over $98 billion over the next decade.”

“If patients cannot afford their medications for chronic diseases such as diabetes it results in the astronautical cost of hospital services and treatment for complications,” said Travis Schule PharmD., CPP, BCPP, Pharmacy Director of Sykes Pharmacy. “Negotiating drug pricing, penalizing drug manufacturers that raise costs above inflation rates, mandating fixed-cost Medicare copays and lowering yearly out-of-pocket costs will allow for patients to have greater access to medications.  The expansion of access will decrease the true cost of healthcare, hospitalization, and treatment of complications resulting from the non-treatment of chronic disease. I applaud Senator Jon Tester for supporting the Inflation Reduction Act, as it shows great leadership to understand where efforts to reduce costs can have extremely large benefits for Montana.”

“Thank you Senator Jon Tester for taking care of business with the Inflation Reduction Act. For too long, Big Pharma continues to dominate this country with obscene drug costs. Not only will this Act help Seniors, such as ourselves, but it will also help many young families, struggling to just make ends meet.” Lee & Patti Scott, retired Helena residents.

Tester has led the charge to cut costs for Montana’s families and seniors. The Inflation Reduction Act requires Medicare to negotiate drug prices, caps out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for Medicare patients at $2,000/year, caps the cost of insulin for Medicare patients at $35/ month, and extends Affordable Care Act provisions to prevent price hikes for thousands of Montanans. The legislation was signed into law in August 2022 and is fully paid for by holding corporations and billionaires accountable.