well the cost of some popular and pricey medications May soon come down the Biden Administration today unveiled a long-awaited list of the first 10 prescription drugs that'll be subject to Medicare price negotiations it's all part of the inflation reduction act the program is expected to reduce government spending on Pharmaceuticals and drive down high costs for older people but it's also being fought by big Pharma in court senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan has the latest I was waiting with beaded breath to see the list Gabriela sadot says her husband's on medication to prevent strokes but that he'd take Eliquis if they could afford it it's among the top selling prescription medications charted 18.3 billion dollars in sales for Bristol Myers Squibb Pfizer last year and now it's on a new Landmark list of 10 prescription drugs that Medicare selected for Price negotiations he's not going to have to worry as much he's 91 years old he should have peace of mind he cannot overstate how Monumental this change is in bringing relief to help Americans afford their medications we know that seniors on Medicare on average are taking about four to five prescription drugs each month the drugs chosen for Price negotiations include Eliquis Xarelto also for stroke prevention Januvia and jardians both diabetes drugs improvica a blood cancer treatment farsika for chronic kidney disease and trusto a heart failure drug and Braille for arthritis and autoimmune conditions fiast NovoLog both insulin products and stelera for Crohn's disease why those particular meds you know they chose the ones that for which there's very little if any competition which are the most common and which um you know have the biggest uh price differentially congressman Frank Malone says these 10 drugs together cost more than 50 billion dollars or 20 percent of Medicare Part D spending in just the past year cost reductions could affect nine million Americans this is huge right you're talking about a lot of people that are impacting and a lot of money that they're spending out of pocket jersey's not cheap I love Jersey but it is uh certainly not inexpensive Laura Waddell's with New Jersey citizen action which was lobbied hard for drug price negotiations she says one in four Jersey residents has to choose between paying for medicines or basic expenses like rent lower prices would mean better access to help bridge harmful disparities in health care and affordability or it's more prevalent in communities of color also of course because we are talking about our seniors uh seniors with fixed incomes some Advocates expect reduced Medicare drug prices could have a wider impact Downstream lowering price tags in the overall Marketplace so pharmaceutical companies continue to vigorously oppose negotiated pricing in court and call it unconstitutional Sarah Ryan's with Pharma they're calling a negotiation but I would say it's kind of like negotiation with a gun to your head they will tell us the price that they have determined um negotiate manufacturers have the ability to either accept that price get slapped with a massive fine or then have to either pull out of Medicare and Medicaid she says Revenue support Innovation but critics like AARP representing millions of seniors filed legal briefs to rebut industry arguments and they want to continue price gouging of course right they're they're going to want to keep making money hand over fist but we can't allow seniors to be big pharma's cash machine anymore under the inflation reduction act Medicare will add new drugs to the list annually price negotiations for the first 10 begin in October and won't take effect until 2026 I'm Brenda Flanagan NJ Spotlight news support for the medical report is provided by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association [Music]