FLORIDA — Patient advocate Sheldon Armus, a Medicare beneficiary from Boynton Beach, shared his story about the high price of his cardiac medications today and introduced President Biden, thanking him for passing the Inflation Reduction Act that will lower drug prices and improve the health of millions of patients. The president delivered remarks in Hallandale Beach about lowering prescription drug costs through the Inflation Reduction Act and protecting Social Security and Medicare.

Sheldon, 74, takes Xarelto and Brilinta, blood thinners that prevent him from developing dangerous blood clots that could lead to a heart attack or stroke. Sheldon explained that Johnson & Johnson has raised the price of Xarelto every year, far outpacing the rate of inflation. It now costs $500 for a 30-day supply, whereas if it had been held to the rate of inflation since 2013, its price would be less than $300 for a month’s supply.

The provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act will, for the first time, allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices, curb annual drug price increases to no more than the rate of inflation, cap out-of-pocket costs for Medicare Part D beneficiaries at $2,000 in 2025, limit monthly insulin copays to $35 per month for Medicare beneficiaries, and make adult vaccines free for Medicare beneficiaries starting next year.

“Medicare is gonna have the power to negotiate lower drug prices,” said President Biden at today’s speech. “The total amount of prescription drug prices you have to pay in any one year if you’re a senior on Medicare…will not be more than $2,000 a year – that’s it.”

“Sheldon is a tremendous advocate and we are grateful he shared his story while introducing the president today,” said Merith Basey, Patients For Affordable Drug Now’s Executive Director. “The Inflation Reduction Act will lower costs for hundreds of thousands of Floridians like Sheldon which will make a significant difference in improving their lives. This is one of the many reasons the drug price provisions are supported by almost 80 percent of Americans, including seven out of 10 Republicans.”

Sheldon added: “Knowing that we have leaders like President Biden fighting to bring down our drug prices — not keep money in the pockets of the pharmaceutical companies — means the world to seniors like my wife and myself, who have been waiting on this relief for years.”

Watch Sheldon’s remarks and the president’s full speech here.

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