AARP Press Briefing: Spotlight on Astronomical Rises in

Top Medicare Part D Drug Prices

A first look at a new analysis on cost increases of the top 25 Part D Drugs

Washington –AARP will release a new report that shows exponential price increases among the top 25 Medicare Part D drugs since entering the market. These drugs include Eliquis, Symbicort, Xarelto, Jardiance, Januvia, Revlimid, and Enbrel. The report comes ahead of CMS’s expected announcement of the first 10 drugs to be negotiated by Medicare in U.S. history.

Leading drug pricing expert Leigh Purvis will discuss the analysis in depth, how its findings bring critical attention to the importance of Medicare drug-price negotiations, as well as inflation-based rebates that will require drug companies to pay Medicare when they increase their prices faster than inflation. Leigh will also dive into how the two Inflation Reduction Act provisions will help save billions of dollars for both Medicare beneficiaries and taxpayers. A Q&A session will follow.

WHO: Leigh Purvis, Senior Director of Health Care Costs and Access, AARP Public Policy Institute

WHEN: Thursday, August 10, 10:00 a.m. ET

WHERE: The briefing will be held virtually via Zoom. RSVP to Madison Daniels at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for a link to register.

REPORT METHODOLOGY:

The report is based on an AARP Public Policy Institute analysis of 2021 data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicare Part D Spending by Drug Dashboard, and Medi-Span Price Rx Pro. Drug list price changes were compared to the corresponding rate of general inflation for the same period that each of the top 25 brand-name drugs has been on the market.