Medicare announces lower prices for 10 common drugs: What's included and how much will they cost?

As the agency announced last week, pharmaceutical companies are lowering the prices of ten of the most expensive drugs under Medicare insurance.

The changes are part of the administration's first negotiations aimed at lowering the prices of some of the most expensive and commonly prescribed drugs under the Medicare program. The drugs are used to treat conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

If the new prices had gone into effect last year, Medicare would have saved about $6 billion, or 22 percent, on the 10 drugs. Medicare beneficiaries – 9 million of whom take at least one of the drugs and often pay a percentage of the cost – are expected to save a total of $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs once the changes take effect.

But the savings won't be seen immediately. The new prices won't take effect for people with Medicare Part D prescription coverage until Jan. 1, 2026. After that, negotiations will begin for 15 more drugs, with any changes coming in 2027. More drugs will be added each year, the agency said.

The prices for the following medicines will be reduced:

• Eliquis, a blood thinner from Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer, new price $231, down from $521
• Enbrel, a drug for rheumatoid arthritis from Amgen, new price $2,355 (negotiated price, previously $7,106)
• Entresto, a heart failure drug from Novartis, new price $295 (negotiated price, previously $628)
• Farxiga, a drug for diabetes, heart failure and chronic kidney disease from AstraZeneca, new price 178 US dollars, instead of 556 US dollars
• Fiasp and NovoLog, diabetes drugs from Novo Nordisk, new price 119 US dollars, instead of 495 US dollars
• Imbruvica, a blood cancer drug from AbbVie and Johnson & Johnson, new price $9,319, down from $14,934
• Januvia, a diabetes drug from Merck, new price $113, down from $527
• Jardiance, a diabetes drug from Eli Lily and Boehringer Ingelheim, new price 197 US dollars, instead of 573 US dollars
• Stelara, a drug for psoriasis and Crohn's disease from J&J, new price $4,695 (negotiated price), compared to $13,836
• Xarelto, a blood thinner from Johnson & Johnson, new price 197 US dollars, instead of 517 US dollars

The new costs do not represent a direct comparison between negotiated prices and what Medicare and insureds would have originally paid, NBC reported. The list price is the full price of a drug and does not include any discounts or rebates offered by a pharmaceutical company.

More than 65 million people in the United States are covered by Medicare.