Inflation Reduction Act – Saving you money

Lower drug costs and improved Part D Coverage for Medicare recipient’s

Insulin:

The cost of a month’s supply of each Part D-covered insulin is capped at $35 – and you don’t have to pay a deductible for insulin. Plans have until the end of March 2023 to update their systems to reflect the $35 cap on insulin. If you are charged more for a covered insulin product in January and/or February 2023 – your plan must reimburse you within 30 calendar days for any amount you paid above the $35 cap.

If you have drug costs high enough to reach the catastrophic coverage phase in your Medicare drug coverage, you won’t have to pay a copayment or coinsurance starting in 2024.

Extra Help affording prescription drug coverage (Low Income Subsidy – LIS) will expand in 2024

Your yearly Part D out of pocket costs will be capped at $2,000 starting in 2025.

For the first time, Medicare will be able to negotiate directly with manufacturers for the price of certain high-spending brand-name Medicare Part B and Part D drugs that don’t have competition.

• Medicare will soon announce the first 10 drugs selected for negotiation in 2023
• Negotiated prices for these first 10 drugs will be effective in 2026.
• Medicare will select and negotiate costs for:
  • 15 Part D drugs in 2025 (effective in 2027).
  • 15 Part B and Part D drugs in 2026 (effective in 2028).
  • 20 Part B and Part D drugs in 2027 (effective in 2029).
  • 20 Part B and Part drugs in 2028 and every year after.
• Manufacturers that don’t follow the negotiation requirements will have to pay a tax and will have to pay penalties if they don’t fulfill other manufacturer requirements.

Vaccines:

People with Medicare Part D drug coverage now pay nothing out of pocket for even more vaccines – including the shingles vaccine.