WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden touted the potential cost savings of Medicare’s first-ever price negotiations for widely used prescription drugs on Tuesday as he struggles to convince Americans that he’s improved their lives as he runs for reelection.
The drugs include the blood thinner Eliquis, diabetes treatment Jardiance and eight other medications. The negotiation process was authorized under the Inflation Reduction Act, which Biden signed last year, capping decades of debate over whether the federal government should be allowed to haggle with pharmaceutical companies.
Any lower prices won’t take effect for three years, and the path forward could be further complicated by litigation from drugmakers and heavy criticism from Republicans.
But the effort is a centerpiece of Biden’s reelection pitch as the Democrat tries to show Americans he’s deserving of a second term because of the work he’s doing to lower costs while the country is struggling with inflation. The drug negotiations, like many of Biden’s biggest policy moves, will take time to play out, and his challenge is to persuade the public to be patient.
“For all of you out there, I get it, and millions of Americans get it,” Biden said at the White House. “I promise you. I’m going to have your back and I’ll never stop fighting for you on this issue.”
He noted that he got “no help from the other team” — meaning Republicans — when it came to lowering prescription costs.
The drugs on the list announced Tuesday accounted for $3.4 billion in out-of-pocket costs for Medicare patients last year.
The Medicare program paid more than $50 billion for the drugs between June 1, 2022, and May 31, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS.
That includes more than $16 billion on Eliquis, a total that does not count discounts or rebates that are already negotiated for the drug. The drug from Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb treats blood clots in the legs and lungs and reduces the risk of stroke in people with an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation.
The diabetes treatments Jardiance from Eli Lilly and Co. and Boehringer Ingelheim and Januvia from Merck made the list. It also included Amgen’s autoimmune disease treatment Enbrel and Entresto from Novartis, which is used to treat heart failure.
Other drugs on the list include AstraZeneca’s diabetes and heart failure treatment Farxiga and three drugs from Johnson & Johnson: the blood thinner Xarelto, the blood cancer treatment Imbruvica and it’s biggest seller, Stelara, an IV treatment for psoriasis and other inflammatory disorders.
The list also includes several versions of Novo Nordisk’s Fiasp, a fast-acting insulin taken around meals.
The announcement Tuesday is another significant step toward taming drug pricing under the Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed by Biden last year. The law also calls for a $2,000 annual cap on how much people with Medicare have to pay out of pocket for drugs starting in 2025.
In addition, the law already caps out-of-pocket costs for insulin at $35 a month for Medicare patients.
“We are here today with the firm belief that in the United States of America, no senior should have to choose between whether they fill their prescription or fill their fridge with food,” Vice President Kamala Harris said.
For drugs on the list released Tuesday, the government aims to negotiate the lowest maximum fair price. That could help some patients who have coverage but still face big bills like coinsurance payments when they get a prescription.
About 9 percent of Medicare beneficiaries age 65 and older said in 2021 that they did not fill a prescription or skipped a drug dose due to cost, according to research by the Commonwealth Fund, which studies health care issues.
Currently, pharmacy benefit managers that run Medicare prescription plans negotiate rebates off a drug’s price. Those rebates sometimes help reduce premiums customers pay for coverage. But they may not directly change what a patient spends at the pharmacy counter.
The new drug price negotiations aim “to basically make drugs more affordable while also still allowing for profits to be made,” said Gretchen Jacobson, who researches Medicare issues at Commonwealth.
The federal government will benefit most from any lowered drug prices, noted Larry Levitt, an executive vice president for health policy at KFF, another non-profit that studies health care. But he said that if Medicare spends less on prescription drugs, then premiums for everyone with its drug coverage also should fall.
Drug companies that refuse to be a part of the new negotiation process will be heavily taxed.
The pharmaceutical industry has been gearing up for months to fight these rules. The lobbying group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America said Tuesday that the drug list announcement stemmed from “a rushed process focused on short-term political gain rather than what is best for patients.”
“Many of the medicines selected for price setting already have significant rebates and discounts due to the robust private market negotiation that occurs in the Part D program today,” PhRMA CEO Stephen J. Ubl said in a statement.
PhRMA representatives also have said pharmacy benefit managers can still restrict access to drugs with negotiated prices by moving the drugs to a tier of their formulary — a list of covered drugs — that would require higher out-of-pocket payments. Pharmacy benefit managers also could require patients to try other drugs first or seek approval before a prescription can be covered.
PhRMA and several drugmakers have filed lawsuits over the administration’s plan.
Republican lawmakers also have blasted the Biden administration, saying companies might pull back on introducing new drugs that could be subjected to future haggling. They’ve also questioned whether the government knows enough to suggest prices for drugs.
CMS plans to meet this fall with drugmakers that have a drug on its list, and government officials say they also plan to hold patient-focused listening sessions. By February 2024, the government will make its first offer on a maximum fair price and then give drugmakers time to respond.
CMS aims to add 15 more drugs to its negotiation list for 2027 and another 15 for 2028. It then plans to add up to 20 more for each year after that.
10 drugs targeted for Medicare price negotiations as Biden pitches cost reductions
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10 drugs targeted for Medicare price negotiations as Biden pitches cost reductions
- The drugs on the list announced Tuesday accounted for $3.4 billion in out-of-pocket costs for Medicare patients last year
Declassified files show UK anger at Chirac over Iraq
- Blair expressed “sorrow, regret and apology” for mistakes made in planning the conflict, while his influential press chief at the time of the war, Alastair Campbell, said the decision would “weigh heavily on him”
LONDON: Newly-declassified UK government documents published Tuesday reveal the frustrations of then-prime minister Tony Blair and his government with French leader Jaques Chirac for blocking UN-backed military action in Iraq in 2003.
Minutes of an emergency cabinet meeting on March 17, 2003 — a week after Chirac said he would veto any resolution approving military action — showed UK ministers agreed “the French attitude had undermined the mechanism of the UN to enforce the will of the international community.”
“We had tried our utmost” but the French “were not prepared to accept that if President Saddam Hussein of Iraq did not comply with UN obligations, military action should follow,” Blair told the meeting, according to files released by the National Archives.
Britain joined the US-led military action to oust Saddam in 2003, despite fierce opposition across the country, with Blair highlighting allegations that the Iraqi dictator had stockpiled weapons of mass destruction.
The WMD accusations fueled by the administration of then president George W. Bush were later proven to be false.
According to the files, then foreign minister Jack Straw told cabinet “effectively, one member of the UN Security Council had torpedoed the whole process,” and accused Chirac, who died in 2019, of deciding to “open up a strategic divide between France and the UK.”
In a meeting three days later, Straw said Chirac “appeared to be positioning himself ... (to) become leader of one side of the bi-polar world he advocated,” in contrast to a US-dominated world.
By contrast, ministers were told in the March 17 meeting that the Labour government “was motivated by a world view which promoted justice, good governance and pluralism and this set it apart from other governments of the industrialized world.”
The final minute of the meeting read: “Summing up, the prime minister said that the diplomatic process was now at an end; Saddam Hussein would be given an ultimatum to leave Iraq; and the House of Commons would be asked to endorse the use of military action against Iraq to enforce compliance, if necessary.”
The UK joined the US-led invasion of Iraq on March 20, 2003, despite around one million people marching in London to protest against military intervention.
The invasion and subsequent war severely dented Blair’s popularity, culminating in the independent Chilcot inquiry, which concluded in 2016 he had deliberately exaggerated the threat posed by the Iraqi regime.
Blair expressed “sorrow, regret and apology” for mistakes made in planning the conflict, while his influential press chief at the time of the war, Alastair Campbell, said the decision would “weigh heavily on him.”. “for the rest of his days.”
Campbell was also caught up in controversy when the BBC reported he had “sexed up” a dossier on Iraq’s military capabilities, claims he has denied.
US soldier dies in non-combat incident in Iraq
- In September, the US announced an agreement with the Iraqi government to wrap up the American-led coalition’s military mission against the Daesh group in Iraq by 2025
WASHINGTON: A 34-year-old soldier serving with the Indiana National Guard in Iraq has died in a non-combat incident, the Army said Monday.
Capt. Eric Richard Hart, 34, of Indianapolis, Indiana, died Saturday in Iraq, the Army National Guard said in a statement. Hart was assigned to the Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion of Indiana’s 38th Infantry Division in Iraq. His death is under investigation.
While all combat operations have ceased for US forces in Iraq, the US maintains a presence of 2,500 troops to assist the Iraqi military in counter-Daesh operations and training. Those forces have repeatedly come under attack in the 14 months since Hamas attacked Israel, spurring a wider, deadly response from Tel Aviv.
During the last year, Iranian-backed forces have launched one-way attack drones, rockets and missiles at US facilities in Iraq in response to Israel’s military operations in Gaza and Lebanon.
In September, the US announced an agreement with the Iraqi government to wrap up the American-led coalition’s military mission against the Daesh group in Iraq by 2025. US troops have departed some bases that they have long occupied during a two-decade-long military presence in the country.
Washington has had a continuous presence in Iraq since its 2003 invasion. Although all US combat forces left in 2011, thousands of troops returned in 2014 to help the Iraqi government defeat Daesh.
Since the extremist group lost its hold on the territory it once seized, Iraqi officials have periodically called for a withdrawal of coalition forces, particularly in the wake of a US airstrike in January 2020 that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis outside the Baghdad airport.
Before Monday’s announcement, a total of 4,419 troops had died in Iraq since the beginning of the 2003 Operation Iraqi Freedom military campaign, including 3,482 combat deaths and 937 non-combat deaths, according to the latest Defense Department data. A total of 31,993 troops were wounded in action in Iraq.
The Defense Department’s summary does not include all of the forces who returned from war with wounds that surfaced later, such as post-traumatic stress disorder or toxic exposure.
Bad weather set to hit UK New Year celebrations
- Edinburgh’s Hogmanay street party was canceled on public safety grounds
LONDON: Adverse weather on Monday looked set to hit UK New Year festivities, as the organizers of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay street party canceled the event on public safety grounds.
The Edinburgh celebrations, a major tourist draw which last year attracted some 30,000 people, had been due to feature a fireworks display and a concert headlined by Scottish band Texas.
But organizers said it would not be safe to go ahead with preparations for outdoor events scheduled for Monday and New Year’s Eve on Tuesday due to “ongoing high winds and inclement weather.”
Planned New Year fireworks in the holiday resort town of Blackpool in northwestern England were also canceled due to a forecast of high winds, the local council said.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) issued a rare severe flood warning of “danger to life” for parts of Scotland.
It said a heavy downpour was expected to burst riverbanks in Aviemore in northern Scotland and nearby areas of the Scottish Highlands.
“Due to persistent and heavy rainfall, river levels on the River Spey will rise throughout Monday night and into Tuesday morning causing serious flooding,” it said.
“Extensive flooding to properties and businesses is expected in and around Aviemore.”
The UK’s Met Office, meanwhile, said heavy rain and strong winds could be expected in parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England.
Some snow was also forecast for parts of Scotland.
“A series of low-pressure systems will track across the UK over the next couple of days bringing some potentially disruptive weather,” said Met Office meteorologist Steve Willington.
“Almost the entire UK is covered by at least one weather warning” over the coming week, he added.
A Met Office amber warning for rain and snow — the second most severe weather notice, meaning there is a potential risk to life — is in place for Scotland.
A number of less severe yellow warnings for rain, wind and snow were also in place for Scotland and northern England.
US Treasury says was targeted by China state-sponsored cyberattack
- Breach accessed Treasury workstations and some unclassified documents
WASHINGTON: The US Treasury Department said Monday that a China state-sponsored actor was behind a cyber breach resulting in access to some of its workstations, according to a letter to Congress seen by AFP.
The incident happened earlier this month, when the actor compromised a third-party cybersecurity service provider and was able to remotely access the Treasury workstations and some unclassified documents, a Treasury spokesperson added.
Treasury contacted the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency after it was alerted of the situation by its provider BeyondTrust, and has been working with law enforcement partners to ascertain the impact.
“The compromised BeyondTrust service has been taken offline and there is no evidence indicating the threat actor has continued access to Treasury systems or information,” the department’s spokesperson said.
In its letter to the leadership of the Senate Banking Committee, the Treasury said: “Based on available indicators, the incident has been attributed to a China state-sponsored Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) actor.”
An APT refers to a cyberattack where an intruder establishes and maintains unauthorized access to a target, remaining undetected for a sustained period of time.
The department did not provide further details on what was affected by the breach, but said more information would be released in a supplemental report at a later date.
“Treasury takes very seriously all threats against our systems, and the data it holds,” the Treasury spokesperson added.
The official said that the department would continue working to protect the US financial system from threats.
Several countries, notably the United States, have voiced alarm in recent years at what they say is Chinese-government-backed hacking activity targeting their governments, militaries and businesses.
Beijing rejects the allegations, and has previously said that it opposes and cracks down on all forms of cyberattacks.
In September, the US Justice Department said it had neutralized a cyber-attack network that affected 200,000 devices worldwide, alleging it was run by hackers backed by the Chinese government.
In February, US authorities also said they had dismantled a network of hackers known as “Volt Typhoon.”
The group was said to be targeting key public sector infrastructure like water treatment plants and transportation systems at the behest of China.
In 2023, tech giant Microsoft said Chinese-based hackers seeking intelligence information breached the email accounts of a number of US government agencies.
The group, Storm-0558, had breached email accounts at approximately 25 organizations and government agencies.
Accounts belonging to the State Department and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo were among those hacked in that breach.
Argentine judge orders arrest of Nicaragua’s Ortega over human rights violations
- The warrant, lawyer Dario Richarte said, also applies to Ortega’s wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo
BUENOS AIRES: An Argentine judge has ordered the arrest of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega over his alleged “systematic violation of human rights,” a lawyer who filed a case against the leader told AFP on Monday.
The warrant, lawyer Dario Richarte said, also applies to Ortega’s wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, and is based on the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows for nations to prosecute crimes against humanity outside their country of origin.
Federal Judge Ariel Lijo has also ordered the arrest of a dozen other people linked to Ortega’s rule.
The crimes Ortega and his wife are accused of include murder, forced disappearances, torture and “deportation or forced transfer of population,” Richarte said.
The complaint had been filed in 2022 by a group of prosecutors from the University of Buenos Aires.
Ortega, a 79-year-old ex-guerrilla, has engaged in increasingly authoritarian practices since returning to power in 2007, seizing control of all branches of the state.
His government has targeted critics, shutting down more than 5,000 non-governmental organizations since a crackdown on 2018 protests that the United Nations said left more than 300 people dead.
Most independent and opposition media now operate from abroad.
Around 450 politicians, businesspeople, journalists, intellectuals, human rights activists and religious figures have been stripped of their nationality since February 2023 under accusations of “treason.”
Amnesty International’s Americas director Ana Piquer warned earlier this month that nobody in Nicaragua was safe from Ortega’s “repressive machinery.”
“From indigenous leaders, journalists, human rights defenders and anyone seen as a risk to government policies, the authorities continue to consolidate the climate of fear,” she said.
