{"id":68769,"date":"2026-02-18T12:00:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T20:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/?p=68769"},"modified":"2026-02-18T12:00:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T20:00:11","slug":"lower-prescription-drug-prices-are-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/news\/lower-prescription-drug-prices-are-here\/","title":{"rendered":"Lower Prescription Drug Prices Are Here"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article\">\n\t<header class=\"header\">\n\t\t<span class=\"type\"><\/span>\t\t<h1>Lower Prescription Drug Prices Are Here<\/h1>\t\t<time>February 18, 2026<\/time>\n\t<\/header>\n\t<div id=\"block_f3fb453c0bf13289876e42e767bd0002\" class=\"shs-block block-news-article entry-content\">\n\t\t<div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"acf-innerblocks-container\">\n\n<p>If you are enrolled in Medicare Part D, you may notice some important changes, such as the lowering of some of your prescription drug prices at the first of this year. This is a result of the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program, which ultimately works to lower what patients pay out of pocket for prescriptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why Lowered Prescription Drug Costs Matters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Managing medication costs can be stressful and may lead to skipping doses or taking partial doses to make prescriptions last longer. New lower prices on specific brand-name drugs, the result of negotiations between Medicare and pharmaceutical companies, is intended to ease the burden and support your health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTen widely used drugs are now available to Medicare beneficiaries at significantly lower prices \u2013 In some cases, as much as 60% off of list prices,\u201d said Megan Jones, director of Samaritan Outpatient Pharmacies. \u201cThese drugs are vital to the health of so many patients, and now they are more affordable. Not only does it help to lower out-of-pocket expenses for enrollees, but it helps reduce overall Part D spending by the Medicare program.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Which Brand-Name Medications Now <br>Cost Less?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The first 10 brand-name drugs selected for renegotiated pricing are commonly prescribed for:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Autoimmune conditions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Blood clots<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cancer<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Diabetes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Heart failure<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Chronic kidney disease<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The medications are: Eliquis, Enbrel, Entresto, Farxiga, Fiasp\/NovoLog, Imbruvica, Januvia, Jardiance, Stelara and Xarelto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Is Coming Next for Medicare Part D?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The next set of negotiated prices for 15 additional drugs will go into effect in 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSurveys have shown that many older adults with limited incomes may skip medication doses or cut pills in half to make their prescription last longer, which can be detrimental to their health,\u201d Jones said. \u201cFortunately, the program will continue beyond this year, and more drugs will be added.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Consumers are encouraged to visit the <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.medicare.gov\/health-drug-plans\/part-d\/basics\/costs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Medicare website<\/em><\/a><em>&nbsp;for the latest on Medicare drug coverage.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>For information about Samaritan\u2019s retail pharmacy services and to find a location in your community, visit <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/health-services\/all-services\/pharmacy\/\"><em>samhealth.org\/Pharmacy<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<aside>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"360\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Senior-woman-prescription-drugs-CO.jpg\" class=\"attachment-cta size-cta wp-post-image\" alt=\"Senior woman looking at her prescription drug at the kitchen table with a computer.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Senior-woman-prescription-drugs-CO.jpg 360w, https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Senior-woman-prescription-drugs-CO-300x250.jpg 300w, https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Senior-woman-prescription-drugs-CO-120x100.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px\" \/><\/figure>\t\t<\/aside>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/article>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Medicare Part D enrollees may see lower prescription drug costs this year as new price negotiations make several widely used medications more affordable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":68772,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","_shs_workflow_notes":"","_shs_exclude_from_navigation":false,"_shs_promote_article_on_blogs":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"news-topics":[],"news-types":[],"services":[256],"specialty":[],"class_list":["post-68769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","services-pharmacy"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68769"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68769\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68769"},{"taxonomy":"news-topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-topics?post=68769"},{"taxonomy":"news-types","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-types?post=68769"},{"taxonomy":"services","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/services?post=68769"},{"taxonomy":"specialty","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/specialty?post=68769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}