Long-term care residents and other Medicare beneficiaries will not have to pay more than $2,000 per year for their medications, and beneficiaries with diabetes will not have to pay more than $35 per month for insulin, under the terms of the Inflation Reduction Act passed by the Senate over the weekend — if it also passes in the House as written and is signed into law as expected.
“Hitting some key areas [of the economy] such as impacts on senior pocketbooks in healthcare in particular is going to have a very positive outcome for seniors in how that translates into senior care,” Chris Orestis, CSA, president of Retirement Genius, told the McKnight’s Business Daily.
Keeping health insurance affordable is especially helpful for people who retire early, to bridge the gap in insurance until they become eligible for Medicare, he said.
Also, he noted that, for the first time ever, Medicare would have the authority to negotiate the cost of prescription drugs with pharmaceutical companies.
AARP Chief Executive Officer Jo Ann Jenkins said that the bill would save Medicare “hundreds of billions of dollars” and “give seniors peace of mind knowing there is an annual limit on what they must pay out-of-pocket for medications.”
“Lowering prescription drug prices is a top priority for Americans, with more than 80% of people across both political parties supporting the measure,” she said.
Long-term care and other workers who are insured through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces would save an average of $800 a year on health insurance premiums under the bill, according to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. Millions of workers would be affected, she said.
Among other provisions, the bill also calls for lower energy costs, increasing cleaner production and reducing carbon emissions by approximately 40% by 2030.
“The Inflation Reduction Act … is a game-changer for working people across America struggling with rising healthcare and prescription drug costs and the devastating impacts of climate change,” Service Employees International Union President Mary Kay Henry stated.
The legislation passed the Senate Sunday in a 50/50 split along party lines, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote. The House is expected to approve the bill this week and send it to the president for his signature.
