World

White House says deals struck to cut prices of popular Medicare drugs that cost $50 billion yearly

Published

2 years ago

August 15, 2024

White House says deals struck to cut prices of popular Medicare drugs that cost billion yearly

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is taking a victory lap after federal officials inked deals with drug companies to lower the price for 10 of Medicare’s most popular and costliest drugs, but shared few immediate details about the new price older Americans will pay when they fill those prescriptions.

White House officials said Wednesday night they expect U.S. taxpayers to save $6 billion on the new prices, while older Americans could save roughly $1.5 billion on their medications. Those projections, however, were based on dated estimates and the administration shared no details as to how they arrived at the figures.

Nonetheless, the newly negotiated prices — still elusive to the public as of early Thursday morning — will impact the price of drugs used by millions of older Americans to help manage diabetes, blood cancers and prevent heart failure or blood clots.

The drugs include the blood thinners Xarelto and Eliquis and diabetes drugs Jardiance and Januvia. Medicare spent $50 billion covering the drugs last year.

It’s a landmark deal for the Medicare program, which provides health care coverage for more than 67 million older and disabled Americans. For decades, the federal government had been barred from bartering with pharmaceutical companies over the price of their drugs, even though it’s a routine process for private insurers.

“This meant that drug companies could basically charge whatever they want for life-saving treatments people rely on, and all Americans paid the price,” White House adviser Neera Tanden told reporters in a Wednesday night call.

The drug deals will become a focal point for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, especially since she cast the tie-breaking vote to pass the law. She will join President Joe Biden Thursday to announce the drug prices, their first joint speaking appearance since she replaced him at the top of the Democratic ticket, as they both struggle to convince voters that costs will trend down after years of above-normal inflation.

The pair last appeared publicly together to welcome back to the U.S. Americans detained in Russia who were freed as part of a massive prisoner swap earlier this month.

Powerful pharmaceutical companies unsuccessfully tried to file lawsuits to stop the negotiations, which became law in 2022, when a Democratic-controlled Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act, overhauling several Medicare prescription drug regulations. But executives of those companies have also hinted in recent weeks during earnings calls that they don’t expect the negotiations to impact their bottom line.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversaw the dealmaking, is expected to release the final drug prices later Thursday. The new prices won’t go into effect until 2026. Next year, the Department of Health and Human Services can select another 15 drugs for price negotiations.

Before the drug prices were finalized, the Congressional Budget Office estimated the negotiations could save the federal government $25 billion in 2031.

The official event comes a day before Harris is set to unveil part of her economic agenda on Friday in North Carolina, where she was aiming to roll out other ways she plans to help cut costs and boost incomes for the middle class.

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World

FAA grounds all JetBlue flights after request from airline

Published

3 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

FAA grounds all JetBlue flights after request from airline

NEW YORK (AP) — The Federal Aviation Administration has grounded all JetBlue flights due to a request from the airline, the agency said Tuesday.

The ground stop impacts flights to all destinations, according to the advisory.

It was not immediately clear why JetBlue requested the ground stop or how long it would last.

The airline and the FAA didn’t immediately respond to emails from The Associated Press requesting more information.

The airline, which was founded more than 25 years ago, has its headquarters in New York City and its flagship terminal at the city’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.

World

Trump says it’s an ‘honor’ to keep Strait of Hormuz open for China and other countries

Published

5 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Trump says it’s an ‘honor’ to keep Strait of Hormuz open for China and other countries

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President Donald Trump said he wants to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, saying it would be an “honor” to do so in an effort to help other nations that rely on the vital Middle East waterway.

Trump was speaking with reporters in Florida on Monday, when he was asked about the global energy choke point, which has been disrupted amid back-and-forth attacks between Iran and Israel and the United States.

IRAN SEIZES OIL TANKERS, THREATENS ‘MASSACRE’ IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ HOURS BEFORE US TALKS

People mourn slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Thursday, in Isfahan, Iran. (Payman Shahsanaei/ISNA via AP)

At about 21 miles wide at its narrowest point, the Strait of Hormuz is between Iran and Oman and carries roughly 20 million barrels a day and about one-fifth of global liquefied natural gas, making it a top-value target when conflict in the region erupts.

“We’re really helping China here and other countries because they get a lot of their energy from the Straits,” Trump said. “We have a good relationship with China. It’s my honor to do it.”

US POSITIONS AIRCRAFT CARRIERS, STRIKE PLATFORMS ACROSS MIDDLE EAST AS IRAN TALKS SHIFT TO OMAN

A screenshot of a marine traffic terminal showing vessels in the Strait of Hormuz on March 4. (Kpler/Marine Traffic)

Trump is slated to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping later this month. While touting the United States’ new energy partnership with Venezuela, Trump noted that China gets its oil through the strait.

“I mean, we’re doing this for the other parts of the world, including countries like China,” he said. “They get a lot of their oil through the straits.”

“We have a very good relationship with President XI (Jinping) and China,” he added. “I’m going there in a short period of time, and we’re protecting the world from what these lunatics are trying to do, and very successfully I might add.”

President Donald Trump greets Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of a bilateral meeting at Gimhae Air Base on Oct. 30, 2025, in Busan, South Korea. Trump said he wants to keep the Strait of Hormuz open in the Middle East for countries, including China. ( Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The U.S. will also waive all oil-related sanctions on some countries in an effort to reduce energy prices amid the conflict in the Middle East, Trump said.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps took to Iranian State TV vowing it would “not allow [the] export of a single liter of oil.”

Later, Trump reaffirmed his position on the strait in a fiery Truth Social post.

“If Iran does anything that stops the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far. Additionally, we will take out easily destroyable targets that will make it virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back, as a Nation, again — Death, Fire, and Fury will reign upon them — But I hope, and pray, that it does not happen!,” he wrote.

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“This is a gift from the United States of America to China, and all of those Nations that heavily use the Hormuz Strait. Hopefully, it is a gesture that will be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

World

NATO intercepts another Iranian missile in Turkish airspace

Published

6 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

NATO intercepts another Iranian missile in Turkish airspace

Published on 09/03/2026 – 18:02 GMT+1•Updated
18:37

NATO forces have intercepted an Iranian missile heading to Türkiye for the second time in less than a week, as US-Israeli strikes on Iran throw the wider Middle East into conflict.

Last Wednesday, Türkiye’s Ministry of Defence said it intercepted an Iranian ballistic missile headed toward Turkish airspace close to the Syria border.

Confirming the incident, NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said “NATO stands firm in its readiness to defend all Allies against any threat”.

According to NATO sources, there is as yet no indication Türkiye is triggering formal proceedings within the alliance to initiate action against Iran.

However, the Turkish government summoned Iran’s ambassador to Ankara for a formal rebuke over the incident.

The US has a military presence at the Incirlik airbase in the south of the country.

“NATO has been clear it has strong interception capabilities”, Colonel Martin O’Donnell, spokesperson for the ⁠Supreme ‌Headquarters ‌Allied Powers ⁠Europe, told Euronews, saying that while Iran is “targeting the US footprint in various countries” it is also attacking public spaces “indiscriminately”.

While NATO has increased its security posture to a heightened level until the threat subsides, O’Donnell reiterated NATO’s position that it is not a party to the conflict, despite the fact the conflict is being prosecuted by the US, the alliance’s most powerful member by far.

“The Secretary General has been clear that NATO is not part of this war, but NATO will defend itself”, he said, speaking to Euronews from NATO HQ in Brussels on Monday.