(NewsNation) — Significant health care changes may unfold for Americans in 2024, as historic negotiations between Big Pharma and Medicare aim to lower prescription drug prices. Additionally, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration might review psychedelic drugs for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatments.
Under the Inflation Reduction Act, the Biden administration will begin negotiations with 10 Medicare Part D drugs, covering common prescriptions including blood clots, diabetes and arthritis.
Price negotiations will be confidential until Medicare officials reveal the maximum fair price, which is set for September. Despite legal challenges from drug companies to stop the process, potential discounted prices may not materialize until 2026.
Beginning next month, certain drug makers might face fines if their prices rise faster than the rate of inflation. Those enrolled in Medicare could potentially save more than $2,700.
“Starting in 2024, some seniors who take 48 prescription drugs could see savings of as much as $2,786 per average dose because those 48 drugs raised their prices faster than inflation in the last quarter of 2023,” the White House said.
This year, anticipation of psychedelic drugs for mental health treatment is expected to accelerate. The FDA has received the first-ever application seeking approval for MDMA, otherwise known as ecstasy, to treat PTSD under medical supervision and therapy.
Democratic and Republican lawmakers have expressed support, while some medical workers endorse the idea and others urge caution.
“Getting you out of these very dark places, lowering the sensitization of pain, getting you sleeping better, getting you out of the suicidology out of your mind, and getting you to open up in therapy, we need the opportunity to look at those and we need the opportunity to study them,” said Dr. Tom Pitts, a neurologist.
“More science is required. I want to make sure that everybody who feels that there is potential pursue that. That goes back to the value of rewarding innovation. But relative to something happening in 2024, relative to an improved psychotropic drug coming on the market, I wouldn’t bet my money on that,” said Peter Pitts, a former FDA associate commissioner for external relations.
MDMA is still classified as a Schedule One drug by the DEA, indicating no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.