New Drug Pricing Bill Could Affect Millions of Medicare Beneficiaries

More than 1.4 million Medicare beneficiaries could see their medication costs plunge if the Senate passes a budget reconciliation bill that contains drug pricing reforms, Kaiser Family Foundation estimated.

The bill — put forward by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) — will allow Medicare to negotiate some prescription drug prices starting in 2026 and require drug companies to pay rebates if drug prices rise faster than inflation starting in 2023. Between 2019 and 2020, half of drugs covered by Medicare Part D and 48% of drugs covered by Medicare Part B saw price increases greater than the rate of inflation (1.0%), according to a previous Kaiser Family Foundation analysis.