Some people with Medicare will pay less out-of-pocket for prescription medications for the fourth quarter of this year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said.
The federal agency on Monday identified 54 drugs that had price increases faster than inflation. Under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022, coinsurance rates for these drugs will be adjusted to reflect the inflation rate, and pharmaceutical companies will be penalized in the form of rebates paid to Medicare, the taxpayer-funded federal health care program for seniors.
The selected drugs will have a lowered Part B coinsurance rate from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, with HHS estimating that some patients could save between $1 and $3,854 per day, depending on the medication. For example, a Medicare enrollee taking Kymriah, a cancer drug, could save as much as $3,000 during the period.
HHS noted that more than 822,000 Medicare enrollees rely on these drugs each year for the treatment of conditions such as cancer, osteoporosis, and pneumonia.
In July, HHS implemented similar price controls for 64 drugs under the IRA’s inflation rebate program. The lower prices for those drugs were in effect during the third quarter of 2024 and expire on Monday.
“No one should have to choose between paying for their health care or putting food on the table,” HHS Deputy Secretary Andrea Palm said at an event announcing the latest quarterly list of Part B medications subjected to coinsurance rate adjustments.
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