U.S. President Joe Biden scrunches his face while speaking at a podium. Behind him are audiences who sit and stand below a hung American flag on the left and a banner on the right that reads "LOWERING PRESCRIPTION DRUG COSTS" — politics coverage from STAT
The first 10 drugs subject to negotiated Medicare prices include diabetes medications and blood thinners.Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

WASHINGTON — The White House is touting just how much its new Medicare negotiation process cut drug prices. The problem is, the numbers it’s using don’t actually mean much.

In a striking side-by-side comparison, President Biden tweeted out a graphic showing newly negotiated prices that Medicare will pay for 10 drugs including blood thinners, cancer treatments, and diabetes medications, among others. The table compares the new prices to the list price of the medicines last year, showing discounts ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars. 

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“Medicare has reached agreements with manufacturers of all 10 drugs selected for drug price negotiation. That means the prices of these ten drugs will be cut 40% to 80%,” Biden’s tweet reads. 

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