The Inflation Reduction Act could offer cancer patients annual savings of $7,590 on average, and some patients could save up to $19,296, according to a June 14 report from Patients for Affordable Drugs.
These estimations are based on three provisions of the law, which will be enacted in the coming years: Medicare's power to negotiate some drug prices, pharma companies facing penalties for raising prices faster than the inflation rate, and the $2,000 cap for Medicare beneficiaries' out-of-pocket costs for medications.
The organization said three critical drugs are likely to be up for price negotiation:
1. Ibrance, a breast cancer drug from Pfizer that costs more than $15,000 per bottle, or about $700 per pill. Its price has increased every year since 2015.
2. Imbruvica, a J&J drug for multiple cancers that has noted 11 price hikes and now sits at more than $17,000 for a month's supply.
3. Xtandi, a prostate cancer treatment from Astellas Pharma, has seen 12 price hikes over 11 years and costs patients $13,600 for a month's supply.
More than 2 in 5 cancer patients spend their life savings during the first two years of treatment, the organization said in its report. With the Inflation Reduction Act, the organization said, 61,378 people taking brand-name cancer drugs through Medicare Part D are expected to save thousands of dollars.