How much does Eliquis cost with Medicare in Colorado?

Eliquis (apixaban) is a factor Xa inhibitor (a direct oral anticoagulant). Doctors prescribe it to lower stroke risk in atrial fibrillation and to treat or prevent deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. It is the most widely filled brand on our prescription pages: 60,499 Colorado Part D members received it in 2024 from 9,457 different prescribers. Your own price depends on your plan's deductible and the tier Eliquis sits on.

Eliquis under Medicare Part D: Colorado, national and 2026 price figures

Eliquis	Amount
Colorado Part D members who filled Eliquis (2024)	60,499
Colorado gross cost per 30-day fill (2024)	$546.79
Colorado patient share per 30-day fill (2024)	$58.45
Medicare negotiated price, 30 days (2026)	$231
Discount from the 2023 list price of $521	56%
Americans with Part D who used Eliquis (2023)	3,928,000
One year alone, standard design (2026)	$1,154.25

Eliquis and the 2026 negotiated price

Eliquis carried the largest Part D bill of the first ten negotiated drugs: $18.3 billion in gross spending for 3,928,000 enrollees in 2023, according to CMS. The negotiated price of $231 is 56% below the 2023 list price of $521. You can already see it in the national claims data: average gross spending per apixaban claim fell from $912.31 across 2025 to $399.01 in the first quarter of 2026.

Bristol Myers Squibb notes on its own pricing page that the government price does not set what a member pays. Your plan does that, through its deductible and tier.

Reading the Colorado figures

Across Colorado in 2024, apixaban accounted for 481,257 thirty-day fills and $263,144,831 in gross cost, and members themselves covered $28,127,243 of it, roughly one dollar in nine. Those figures predate the yearly out-of-pocket limit that began in 2025.

The $58.45 average blends people with Extra Help, who paid a few dollars, with people still inside a deductible, who paid full price. Treat it as a midpoint, never as a quote for your own plan.

When will generic apixaban arrive?

FDA approved the first two generic versions of Eliquis on December 23, 2019, yet you cannot buy them in the United States. After a 2021 appeals court ruling upheld the Eliquis patents, Bristol Myers Squibb reported to the SEC that the earliest generic makers are permitted to launch apixaban is April 1, 2028, subject to further appeals. CMS lists no removal for Eliquis, so the negotiated price still applies for 2027.

A worked year of Eliquis on the standard design

Suppose your plan uses the full $615 deductible and 25% coinsurance that Medicare.gov describes, and the pharmacy price is the $231 negotiated price. January and February cost $231 each. March costs $172.50, which finishes the deductible. April through December cost $57.75 each. The year totals $1,154.25, comfortably under the $2,100 cap, so the cap only matters if you take other costly brands too.

For 2027, with the $700 maximum deductible and the same price, the year would come to about $1,218. Several Adams County plans set a $0 drug deductible, which lowers the early months.

Smoothing the bill and finding help

The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you pay $0 at the counter and receive a monthly bill instead. Starting in January, the first bill would be about $19.25 rather than $231, and February's about $40.25. It spreads cost; it does not reduce it.

The Eliquis co-pay card requires that you have no prescription coverage through a state or federal program, so it does not work with Part D. Extra Help does: for 2026 it is open to single people with income up to $23,940, and brand-name copays for 2027 are no more than $14.40.

Related questions

Sources

1. CMS Medicare Part D Prescribers by Geography and Drug, 2024 (Colorado) Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
2. CMS fact sheet: negotiated prices for initial price applicability year 2026 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
3. CMS Medicare Quarterly Part D Spending by Drug Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
4. Medicare.gov: How much does Medicare drug coverage cost? Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
5. FDA: 2019 First Generic Drug Approvals U.S. Food and Drug Administration
6. Bristol Myers Squibb third quarter 2021 results (SEC Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1) Bristol Myers Squibb (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing)
7. Bristol Myers Squibb: Eliquis price and co-pay card terms Bristol Myers Squibb
8. Medicare.gov: Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, before using this payment option Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
9. Medicare.gov: Help with drug costs (Extra Help) Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Please note: We do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently we represent 10 organizations which offer 106 products in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE to get information on all of your options.Headwaters Health and Wealth is not connected with or endorsed by the United States government or the federal Medicare program. Medicare has neither endorsed nor reviewed this information.