WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — A new AARP report shows millions of Medicare recipients will see cuts to their prescription drug costs starting next year.
In January, a new $2,000 out-of-pocket cap kicks in from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act for Medicare Part D plan enrollees.
“We believe that no senior should have to forgo the medication they need because they simply can’t afford it,” said Leigh Purvis, the prescription drug policy principal at the AARP Public Policy Institute.
AARP estimates more than a million enrollees who reach the cap between 2025 and 2029 will save at least $1,000 per year and expects that to increase over time.
“That’s a really meaningful protection for people on expensive drugs but also, frankly, for anyone who could potentially be prescribed an expensive drug in the future,” Purvis said.
Diana DiVito, a cancer patient from Pennsylvania, called the cap “a real life changer” when it comes to affording her changing leukemia drugs.
“I almost had a heart attack when I saw the first copay,” DiVito said. “What do people do who can’t afford this? Sadly, many of them probably don’t survive.”
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) argues the 2022 law will mean fewer insurance plans to choose from then higher premiums for patients, along with slowing the development of new medications.
PhRMA President and CEO Steve Ubl said in a statement, “The ironically named Inflation Reduction Act is a bad deal being forced on American patients: higher costs, more frustrating insurance denials and fewer treatments and cures for our loved ones.”
