The big climate change bill includes a provision allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices. However, you'll be excused for being less than impressed when you learn that this applies to only ten drugs starting in 2026, increasing to 20 drugs by 2029.
But there's more! The other Medicare provisions in the bill haven't gotten as much attention but are probably more important. Here they are:
- An annual cap of $2,000 on out-of-pocket spending on prescription drugs.
- A limit on drug price increases to the rate of inflation.
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- A cap on insulin copays of $35.
And for everyone else:
- It extends the expanded subsidies for Obamacare. No one will have to pay more than 8.5% of their income for family coverage.
It's worth noting that the inflation cap on prescription drug prices is probably better than it seems. The overall inflation rate of prescription drugs is higher than inflation by a fair amount, though that's cooled down some since the start of the pandemic. However, that's an average of all drug prices. As KFF points out, there's a subset of about 20% of all drugs—including nearly all of the most popular ones— that have seen very high increases. Keeping those prices reined in will make a big difference to a lot of people.
None of the Medicare stuff applies to those of us on commercial plans because the Senate parliamentarian ruled that they didn't qualify for the 50-vote threshold of the reconciliation process. However, Democrats are likely to reintroduce the insulin cap as a standalone bill, so that has a chance of helping everyone. The inflation cap, however, is probably going to stay limited to Medicare for now.
Creeping socialism! Republicans will take care of it when they controll Congress. /s
It's chock full of everything Republicans hate with the heat of a thousand burning suns, but which regular humans tend to like and appreciate their governement facilitating. Republicans should be put on the spot and on the record for every single thing they want to repeal. Make them say it out loud. Want to lift the cap on insulin prices? On out-of-pocket drug expenses? Remove subsidies for the ACA? Let's send out a circular making sure your constituents are very clear on that.
Medicare helps set the tone for commercial plans in a lot of ways. Same with VA. And if pharma ends up jacking prices to private insurers to make up the difference, that'll just make "Medicare-for-All" or more discreet expansions that much more attractive.
"An annual cap of $2,000 on out-of-pocket spending on prescription drugs."
Does anyone have a link to when this starts applying? FY 2023?
I help my mom in assisted living w/ her extra expenses -- this is a huge deal.
I can't find an exact date, but the year is 2025. And of course you must be enrolled in a Part D drug plan, so the insurance companies can eke out a paltry living.
https://www.barrons.com/articles/medicare-drug-costs-to-be-capped-at-2-000-a-year-in-inflation-reduction-act-51659879091
It should be noted that the ACA subsidies are only extended 3 years. This doesn't help me a lot as I need the certainty that they won't evaporate in making long-term plans.
This is the same sort of shell game that the original BBB plan was using for everything - fund every program under the sun and have them expire, hoping that a future Congress/POTUS won't want to let them expire. But I'm pretty sure by that point at least one of the veto points in the legislative stew will be in R hands, and they'll be delighted to let it expire.
Still excellent for numerous reasons that this passed, just unfortunate that the one provision that specifically points to me doesn't have the clarity I need...