RIDLEY TOWNSHIP – Pennsylvania’s U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr. spoke to senior citizens at the Schoolhouse Center on Friday to tell them how many will see significant decreases in their prescription drug costs, thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act.
“The main thing here is we finally made progress on lowering prescription drug costs,” the senator said about provisions in the act. “It’s not the end. There’s more work to do but we finally had a breakthrough where some of the biggest lobbyists in the world, not just in Washington, were defeated.”
Signed into law Aug. 16 by President Joe Biden, the Inflation Reduction Act is a $750 billion package meant to reduce the deficit through taxes on large corporations and stock buybacks to fund Biden’s initiatives from health care to taxes to climate change.
On Friday, Casey spoke about the parts of the act applicable to those on Medicare Part D.
He said firstly that the new law empowers Medicare through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices.
“First time ever,” the senator said. “All the corporate lobbies were kicking the hell out of members of Congress … We said no, we’re going to vote for this bill.”
The negotiations will have phases with the first starting in 2025 when 10 prescription drugs will be the subject of negotiation. It will then increase to 15 and continue to grow from there.
Secondly, the senator explained, there’s a $2,000 cap annually on out-of-pocket costs for Medicare Part D beneficiaries, starting in 2025.
Although he didn’t have numbers specific to Delaware County, Casey said there are 73,245 seniors in Pennsylvania paying $2,000 or more each year for their prescription medications.
“At least there’s a cap in place by law at $2,000,” the senator said.
Thirdly, Casey said the law places a $35 monthly cap on insulin for Medicare Part D beneficiaries beginning in January, a cap he would have liked all insurance holders to have.
“That was another thing they said we could never do,” the senator said. “We had in the bill that went to the floor the same cap on insulin for everybody but the other side voted against it and kicked it out of the bill … That was a bad move for America when they did that. The good news is we’re at least able to preserve the insulin cap for Medicare Part D beneficiaries.”
One of the panelists, Robin Stelly, an organizer with the Pennsylvania Health Access Network, said paying for prescription drugs and health care has far-reaching impacts.
“When you struggle to pay for your meds, it’s not just you who suffers, it’s your loved ones, it’s your family.” she said. “We have generational family stress brought on by prescription drug prices that are too high.”
‘It’s going to help’
Jessica Hadfield, director of the Schoolhouse Center, said it was an honor to host the senator and was grateful he could listen to concerns she hears daily.
“We hope our members benefit from the bill that was passed,” she said, adding that she believes it will impact center members. “A lot of people come to us asking for help, or if we know what they can do, or if we can help them do it on the computer.”
Mary O’Neill of Rutledge is a Schoolhouse Center member who was in the Casey audience and she said it seemed like the prescription drug provisions in the bill seemed good, although her main concern was school taxes.
“I’m getting old. I’m 73 now,” she said. “But you don’t know what you’re going to wake up to: what medicine, what we need or whatever. And I worry about that. So, if this bill is what they’re saying, it’s going to help. That would be great.”
She said her 73-year-old husband works installing doors just to pay for their school taxes.
“This is what’s got to be changed: the school taxes,” she told the senator, who explained education funding is determined by state officials.
“What good is medicine if you don’t have a place to live?” O’Neill said.
The senator said part of why he was there was to hear stories of challenges the seniors face.
“We have to keep pushing to implement it well and to make the case that we can’t stop here,” Casey said. “We got to do more. We’ve got to keep driving those costs down. … we made good progress this month.”
The Schoolhouse Center visit was one stop of two the senator made in Delaware County on Friday.
In the afternoon, he spent time with members of the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce at the Inn at Villanova to give federal-related updates on business.
For help with Medicare
The PA MEDI Medicare Program offers assistance for those trying to navigate the Medicare system. Their helpline is 484-494-3769.
