—Statement from Fred Riccardi, Medicare Rights Center President—

Washington DC—The Medicare Rights Center strongly supports the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. As released today, this historic bill incorporates many of our long-standing recommendations to make health care and prescription drugs more affordable for current and future Medicare beneficiaries.

Critically, it will lower costs for people with Medicare in several ways. The bill will extend full Part D Low Income Subsidy (LIS) assistance to individuals with incomes up to 150% of poverty, cap annual Part D drug spending at $2,000, limit insulin costs to $35 a month, and eliminate cost sharing for Part D-covered vaccines.  

It will also begin to address the drivers of those costs through key Medicare structural reforms, such as requiring Medicare to negotiate drug prices, penalizing manufacturers for price hikes that outpace inflation, and better aligning Part D pricing incentives.

The legislation will also continue important Affordable Care Act premium subsidies that have helped so many obtain coverage, often easing Medicare transitions and costs.

We urge Congress to seize this opportunity for transformational change and pass the Inflation Reduction Act without delay.