White House to Name First 10 Drugs for Medicare Negotiations Next Week

The Biden-Harris administration plans to unveil the first 10 drugs selected for Medicare price negotiations Tuesday, in a milestone in the president’s plan to lower the price of prescription drugs.

Democrats in the House and Senate passed legislation requiring Medicare to negotiate lower prices for some of the most expensive drugs last year as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is required to publish up to 10 Medicare Part D drugs that it selects for negotiation no later than September 1.

Health officials have closely guarded the specific medications that they plan to name. The list is likely to include expensive blood thinners, diabetes medicines, and cancer drugs that cost Medicare billions of dollars annually.

The negotiated prices are slated to go into effect in 2026, but many of the companies whose products are believed to be on the initial list have already filed suit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees CMS, and U.S. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra. Pharma — the drug industry lobbying group — and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have also sued. However, many Wall Street analysts say that the Medicare drug price negotiations are unlikely to be derailed by the lawsuits.

“Millions of seniors are paying less for their drugs today thanks to the IRA. The power of this law to change lives for the better will come into even sharper focus when the names of the first 10 drugs are released,” said Robert Roach, Jr., President of the Alliance. “Alliance members fought Big Pharma for nearly two decades to require Medicare to negotiate a better deal for retirees and taxpayers and we are anxious to see the result of our advocacy.”

It is Possible to Control Negative Thoughts about Aging

Age bias doesn’t show up only as discrimination or snarky birthday cards, according to The Washington Post. One potent source of ageism comes from older people themselves.

Internalized ageism is the negative voice in people’s heads that sometimes pushes them to tell themselves they’re having a “senior moment” when they forget a name, or to take extreme measures to look younger. These attitudes are quite common: Over 80 percent of people between ages 50 and 80 subscribe to ageist stereotypes, according to a study led by Julie Ober Allen, assistant professor of health and exercise science at the University of Oklahoma.

Like other forms of ageism, the self-inflicted kind is associated with lower levels of emotional and physical health and can subtract years off people’s lives. It may include feeling that decline is inevitable. 

The irony is that in reality, the vast majority of older people feel in good health and are satisfied with their lives. But you’d never know that from how seniors are portrayed in advertising and entertainment — forgetful, cranky and frail.

Older people do have the power, however, to shift these negative feelings and improve their well-being. When seniors are reminded of the many positive aspects of aging, such as wisdom gained from experience, they often see immediate benefits such as becoming stronger and having more will to live.

“Studies have shown that when people unconsciously absorbed uplifting words about aging, they exhibited changes such as improved memory, and their blood pressure and heart rate were reduced,” said Joseph Peters, Jr., Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance. “On the other hand, after unconsciously taking in negative messaging about growing older, participants had worse recall and heightened stress.” 

Arizona Alliance Holds Its Convention

Rep. Ruben Gallego, Rep. Greg Stanton and Fred Yamashita, Executive Director of the Arizona AFL-CIO, spoke at the Arizona Alliance’s convention last Friday in Phoenix, and Sen. Mark Kelly sent a video greeting. Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance, discussed retiree issues and the senior vote.

left to right: Fred Yamashita, Rep. Greg Stanton and Richard Fiesta

“The senior vote will be critical in 2024, just as it has been in the past,” said Fiesta. “That is the case in the key state of Arizona as much as anywhere, and Arizona Alliance members will be leading the way to get out the vote for pro-retiree candidates.”

Convention delegates also elected their officers: Linda Somo, President; Vic Peterson, 1st Vice President; Saundra Cole, 2nd Vice President; Janie Hydrick, Treasurer; and Margarita Silva, Secretary.

KFF Health News: Few Firm Beliefs and Low Trust: Americans Not Sure What’s True in Age of Health Misinformation
By Darius Tahir

Around 3 in 10 Americans still believe ivermectin is an effective treatment for covid. What’s more, few place significant trust in any form of news media or official institution to accurately convey information about health topics, from covid treatments and vaccines to reproductive health issues, a new poll from KFF shows.

The confusion about what’s true — and who’s telling the truth — is of critical importance to public health, experts in political science said. “Misinformation leads to lives being lost and health problems not being resolved,” Bob Blendon, a professor emeritus of public health at Harvard, said in an interview. Blendon was not associated with the survey.

Such misinformed beliefs are strongly held by only a sliver of the population, according to a KFF poll out today.

Read more here.

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