Article Summary –
The Biden-Harris administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has introduced significant healthcare cost reductions, including a $35 monthly cap on insulin for Medicare recipients, down from an average of $54 nationwide, benefiting 116,000 seniors in North Carolina. The IRA will further cap out-of-pocket medication costs for all 1.7 million North Carolinians with Medicare Part D at $2,000 annually starting in 2025, and plans to reduce prices for up to 60 additional drugs over the next four years. Democrats aim to extend these benefits to all ages, while Republicans may seek to repeal the IRA and the Affordable Care Act, which has already reduced the uninsured rate in North Carolina by 33% over the past decade.
As a result of the Biden-Harris administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, Medicare recipients now pay no more than $35 a month for insulin.
Carrol Olinger was panicking.
In 2022, the retired Fayetteville teacher relied on Medicare to pay for insulin. Her co-pay for the life-saving drug was over $200 a month.
“This is not a choice for me: I need insulin to live,” she said. “I did some bad things to save money, like reuse needles.”
Then Olinger heard about the Biden-Harris administration’s $35 price cap on insulin, effective early 2023.
“It was a huge relief,” she said. “That’s gas money. That’s everyday living money that my family and I needed.”
Biden-Harris administration policies lowered healthcare costs
In North Carolina and across the U.S., the high cost of insulin forced painful choices. Americans pay 2.56 times more for prescription drugs than in 32 other countries.
The Biden-Harris Administration is addressing this issue. The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) introduced new price cuts, helping up to 116,000 North Carolina seniors who use insulin.
With the IRA, Medicare recipients now pay no more than $35 a month for insulin—down from a national average of $54.
Just the start of cost-saving reforms
The Inflation Reduction Act did more:
- Starting in 2025, all 1.7 million North Carolinians with Medicare Part D will have out-of-pocket medication costs capped at $2,000 per year.
- About 663,000 North Carolinians will save an average of $406 per year on prescription drug costs.
- Beginning in 2026, the Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act will cap costs for 10 other medications for Medicare recipients, including drugs for heart failure, blood clots, arthritis, and Crohn’s disease.
- Over the next four years, Medicare will lower prices for up to 60 other drugs, with 20 more each year thereafter.
Currently, relief affects only older Americans. Democrats aim to extend it to all ages, so no one has to choose between health and housing.
How the price caps help you
If Medicare is paying for your insulin:
- Your bills should be lower than before.
- Check your monthly statements and call your doctor’s billing office if you have questions.
- If your doctor can’t help, contact Medicare at 1-800-633-4227 or 1-877-486-2048 (TTY), or the Seniors’ Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) at 1-855-408-1212.
And remember:
- Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, the share of North Carolinians without health insurance has fallen by 33% over the past decade.
- As of 2023, out-of-pocket costs for vaccines, such as shingles, under Part D, have been eliminated, helping tens of thousands of state Medicare beneficiaries.
- While Republicans want to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act and possibly the Affordable Care Act, Democrats aim to expand access to quality health insurance for all.
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