Fact sheet shows how IRA health care provisions Casey fought for have already lowered drug costs and health care premiums for hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians
In coming years, a new cap on out of pocket costs and drug price negotiations enabled by the law will lower costs even further
Casey: “Pennsylvanians will be seeing the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act for years to come”
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, released a fact sheet detailing how the Inflation Reduction Act has already lowered health care and prescription drug costs for Pennsylvania families. 80,200 Pennsylvanians on Medicare Part B and D are paying at most $35 a month for insulin, and 346,000 Pennsylvanians are paying hundreds of dollars less for health care Marketplace premiums. The fact sheet also provides Pennsylvanians with a timeline for provisions that have yet to be implemented, such as the cap on out-of-pocket costs at $2,000 and the ability for Medicare to negotiate for fair drug prices, which will lower costs for hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians.
“When we passed the Inflation Reduction Act, I fought to include provisions that would bring down the cost of health care and prescription drugs and ensure that Pennsylvania’s seniors and families can afford the care and medications that they need,” said Chairman Casey. “This fact sheet shows these provisions are already working, and Pennsylvanians are seeing lower costs. As more parts of the law go into effect, those costs will continue to drop. Pennsylvanians will be seeing the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act for years to come.”
In August 2022, Chairman Casey fought to pass the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to lower health care and prescription drug costs for older adults, people with disabilities, and families across the Nation. Starting in January 2023, the IRA capped the cost of insulin for Medicare Part D beneficiaries at $35 a month for certain covered insulin products. The law also will limit Medicare beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket costs at $2,000 per year beginning in 2025, and it instituted a new provision to impose penalties on drug companies that hike up prices in Medicare above the rate of inflation. It also makes eligible vaccines, including the shingles vaccine, free for seniors with Medicare Part D and expands cost-sharing assistance for low-income people with Medicare, a provision Chairman Casey championed through his Lowering Medicare Premiums and Prescription Drug Costs Act. Lastly, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the first 10 prescription drugs eligible for negotiation, with additional prescription drugs becoming eligible for negotiation in the coming years. In August 2023, Chairman Casey celebrated the beginning of these negotiations.
Today, Chairman Casey released fact sheets detailing how these provisions in the IRA have lowered costs in all 50 states, including Pennsylvania.
Read the fact sheet HERE or below:
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