Inflation Reduction Act: 3 Ways It Can Save You Money on Medical Bills
The Inflation Reduction Act is scheduled to be signed into law by President Joe Biden on Tuesday. After passing the Senate last weekend, the sweeping health care, climate and tax reform bill cleared the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives on a 220-to-207 vote on Friday.
On the health care front, the 755-page legislation will extend expiring subsidies for Affordable Care Act health insurance and give Medicare the power to negotiate prescription drug prices.
It’s a major win for the Biden administration and, following the signing, the president will host a cabinet meeting focused on implementing it. He’ll also travel across the US to highlight how the Inflation Reduction Act will help the American people.
How can the Inflation Reduction Act save you money on your health care costs? Read on to find out.
For more on health care, learn how to save on medical bills when you don’t have insurance, the best telemedicine services for at-home doctor’s visits and how to enroll in the healthcare marketplace under the Affordable Care Act.
1. Allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices
To address the cost of prescription drugs, the bill would let Medicare annually negotiate prices with pharmaceutical companies on 10 pricey medications, starting in 2026.
Fifteen more high-cost and high-use drugs would be added the following year, another 15 in 2028, and 20 more drugs would make the list in 2029.
“Currently, our drug pricing system works for corporations and middlemen, not patients,” Senate Democrats said in an Aug. 7 statement. “The new negotiation policy will ensure that patients with Medicare get the best deal possible on high-priced drugs and pay cost-sharing for those drugs based on the Medicare negotiated price.”
The $740 billion bill includes $288 billion for prescription drug pricing reform for the more than 63 million seniors and others who use Medicare.
It also closes a “rogue Secretary” loophole that could have allowed a future administration to refuse to try to get the best prices for medications, according to Senate Democrats, “or negotiate fewer than the maximum number of drugs.”
Prescription costs would be capped at $2,000 a year for seniors on Medicare Part D drug plans.
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2. Cap annual drug costs for Medicare Part D enrollees
In addition to negotiated drug prices, the bill would cap out-of-pocket prescription drug costs at $2,000, starting in 2025, for those with Medicare Part D drug plans. It also adds an option to break…
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