NEW DATA: Montana Seniors Save $1 Million+ in Prescription Drug Costs, Thanks to Tester’s Inflation Reduction Act
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, March 16, 2023
CONTACT
hadley@montanademocrats.org
Every Montana Republican Voted Against Capping Out-of-Pocket Costs for Seniors
Helena, MT – The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a new report yesterday showing the savings Montanans with Medicare will now see because the Inflation Reduction Act makes recommended Part D vaccines free for beneficiaries. Both Rep. Matt Rosendale and Senator Steve Daines voted against capping these out-of-pocket costs.
Thanks to Senator Jon Tester’s critical work in passing the bipartisan Inflation Reduction Act, more than 10,000 Montana seniors will see their health care costs go down. According to the report, Montana Medicare enrollees will save more than $124 yearly on average in out-of-pocket costs on Part D-covered vaccines (like Shingles, Tdap, and others).
“While Republicans sided with Big Pharma and voted against cutting the cost of prescription drugs, Senator Tester and Democrats are putting money back into seniors’ pockets,” said Robyn Driscoll, chair of the Montana Democratic Party.
Last August, President Biden and Democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which, for the first time, allows Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices for seniors, caps the cost of insulin at $35 for seniors on Medicare, and makes recommended vaccines free for Medicare beneficiaries. The HHS report shows:
Seniors and people with disabilities in Montana are likely to save an average of $124.07 per year because of the legislation’s provision that went into effect in January that allows Medicare beneficiaries to get recommended vaccines for free.
The first set of Part B prescription drugs that will be subject to Medicare inflation rebates because they raised their prices faster than inflation, which will lower coinsurance for some Medicare beneficiaries beginning next month.
This new data comes after President Biden last week proposed capping the price of insulin at $35 per month for everyone – not just seniors – as part of his budget. Meanwhile, two of the three largest producers of insulin in the country – Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk – announced they are following the president’s lead and lowering insulin costs for seniors in Montana and across the country.
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