President Biden’s Lower Cost Prescription Drug Law is Promoting Women’s Economic Security
Imagine facing the daily challenges of managing your chronic illness and then discovering that the medication vital to your well-being has a price out of your reach. You face the constant burden of paying for your medications, often sacrificing the needs of yourself and your loved ones. Just as he manages to stabilize his finances, the cost of the medication skyrockets, skyrocketing nearly 50% since he began relying on it, now reaching a staggering $10,000 a year, and he sees no help in sight.
Because of stories like this, President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act, offering relief from high prescription drug costs to millions of Americans. This story is not hypothetical. It’s Samantha Reid’s reality. National Women’s Health Week (NWHW) is a perfect time to highlight how the President’s Affordable Prescription Drug Act is helping women pay for their prescription medications.
Samantha’s story underscores why the Inflation Reduction Act is so important for women. Among people with Medicare, women have disproportionately higher rates of some health conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease, asthma, fibromyalgia, osteoporosis, and certain types of cancer, which can lead to high prescription drug costs. The President’s bill now provides relief to women with Medicare by limiting out-of-pocket drug costs, requiring drug companies to pay a rebate to Medicare if they raise drug prices faster than inflation, and providing additional savings to those are eligible for Extra Help from Medicare. program.
In 2020, about 733,000 women enrolled in Medicare Parts D and B would have benefited from the Inflation Reduction Act’s $35 per month cap on out-of-pocket costs for Medicare-covered insulin products. Women with Medicare paid approximately $133.4 million in out-of-pocket costs for vaccines covered by Part D, averaging about $68 per enrollee in 2021. Those women would not have paid anything out of pocket for the recommended vaccines covered by Part D. Part D if the Inflation Reduction Act vaccine supply had been in effect in 2021. Thanks to the newly expanded eligibility for the Extra Help ProgramAbout 857,000 women who likely meet program requirements but are not yet enrolled are projected to save $1,000 or more by 2025. These provisions highlight the Act’s significant impact on promoting women’s health and financial well-being. .
The Inflation Reduction Act represents an important step forward in ensuring equitable access to affordable health care. As we observe National Women’s Health Week, a week dedicated to empowering women to take charge of their health journeys and highlighting health issues unique to women, let’s recognize how the president’s new prescription drug law Biden promotes economic security for women. Learn more about how the Inflation Reduction Act is benefiting women here and for more information about the Inflation Reduction Act and Medicare, visit LowerDrugCosts.gov.
