The Inflation Reduction Act and patient costs for drugs to treat heart failure

The Inflation Reduction Act and patient costs for drugs to treat heart failure
JAMA Network Open; Erin Trish, PhD; Karen Van Nuys, PhD; Joanne Wu, MS; Nihar R. Desai, MD, MPH; 10/24
The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) contains several provisions to lower Medicare drug costs, including permitting the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to limit the prices of certain medicines and altering the standard Part D benefit to limit patient out-of-pocket costs. CMS has set the prices of 10 drugs effective 2026, including 3 commonly prescribed as part of combination therapy for heart failure (HF): dapagliflozin, empagliflozin, and sacubitril/valsartan. Dapagliflozin and empagliflozin also treat other conditions, including diabetes and chronic kidney disease. In this cross-sectional study of Medicare beneficiary costs ... benefit redesign eliminates the coverage gap in 2025, and caps annual out-of-pocket expenditures, [and] ... will reduce and smooth patient out-of-pocket burden.