{"id":9565,"date":"2022-08-29T09:57:20","date_gmt":"2022-08-29T13:57:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=9565"},"modified":"2022-08-29T09:59:39","modified_gmt":"2022-08-29T13:59:39","slug":"major-cost-saving-changes-to-medicare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=9565","title":{"rendered":"Major cost-saving changes to Medicare"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The president’s <\/span>Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)<\/a>\u00a0brings the most consequential changes to Medicare in almost two decades.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The new law includes several watershed health care provisions that lower prescription drug prices and out-of-pocket costs for millions of Americans that could potentially benefit nearly every Medicare recipient.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe majority of Medicare beneficiaries will receive better coverage under this legislation,\u201d Mary Johnson, a Social Security policy analyst for\u00a0The Senior Citizens League,<\/a>\u00a0told Yahoo Money.<\/p>\n

The Medicare Trustees\u00a0estimated\u00a0<\/a>that there will be more than 65 million Americans enrolled under Medicare by the end of this year, up from 63.8 million beneficiaries at the end of 2021<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Read on Yahoo Finance<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Negotiating prices for high-priced drugs<\/strong><\/h2>\n

An estimated 5-7 million Medicare beneficiaries could see their prescription drug costs decrease because of the provision allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug costs, according to a White House\u00a0briefing.<\/a><\/p>\n

Starting in 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will work directly with drugmakers to reduce the price of some high-cost prescription drugs in the Medicare program.<\/p>\n

The potential savings are noteworthy. Currently, prescription drugs account for about 20% of Medicare patients\u2019 out-of-pocket health care costs, according to a\u00a0report<\/a>\u00a0by the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit research group focused on health care issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would bet virtually everyone knows someone who is struggling to pay for their medications,\u201d Tricia Neuman, a senior vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) and executive director of the program on Medicare policy, said in a recent\u00a0web discussion<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The initial target will be 10 of the most expensive drugs covered under Part D. The final list of drugs, however, has not been selected by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.<\/p>\n

Between 2027 and 2029, additional drugs will be included in the cost negotiations. AARP has released\u00a0a list\u00a0<\/a>of high cost drugs that could be considered.<\/p>\n