WASHINGTON, DC – 2023 – President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) lowering the cost of prescription drugs for Medicare recipients in 2022. This is how the IRA lowers health care costs for Medicare recipients in 2023:
- The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will be able to negotiate prices of 10 drugs with drug companies
- Insulin co-payments will be capped at $35 a month
- Drug companies will offer rebates if drug prices outpace inflation
America is the only developed nation in the world where cash-strapped hard-working Americans have to compromise their health by spending their limited resources on food and shelter instead of prescription medicine.
On August 29th, the federal government announced the first 10 drugs that CMS will negotiate cost with pharmaceutical companies. The government aims to obtain the lowest maximum fair price to make drugs more affordable while allowing the drug companies to make a profit.
In March, three pharmaceutical companies that manufacture 90% of the world’s insulin cut insulin prices. These price controls come after a recent surge in interest about the cost of insulin in America tripling over the past 20 years and being 10 times more than the average price in other countries. More than 1.3 million Americans either skipped or had to ration doses because of the high cost. Therefore, this new policy will reduce the financial barrier to obtain these life-saving medicines for Americans younger than 65.
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Contact: Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]
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