Fraud of the Democrats' Claim that the Inflation Reduction Act Allows Medicare to Negotiate Drug Prices

The Democrats claim that their "Inflation Reduction Act" allows Medicare to negotiate down drug prices.  That claim is very largely a fraud.

In fact, here is what the new law does:

• No Medicare negotiation of any drug prices before 2026.
  
  
• Beginning in 2026, the prices of only 10 prescription drugs in Medicare Part D would be negotiated. That would increase 15 drugs in 2027. Then in 2028 negotiation would cover 15 drugs in both Medicare Part D and Medicare Part B (typically drugs in Part B are given by doctors or in hospital outpatient treatment). In 2029 and later, negotiation would include only a total of 20 Part D and Part B drugs.

That's it.  Zero negotiation until 2026 and then negotiation on only a tiny fraction of the 4,000+ drugs that Medicare pays for.