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Ohioans are starting to get much-needed relief from health care and prescription costs, thanks to President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
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LOWER PRESCRIPTION DRUG AND HEALTH CARE COSTS
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November 2023
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Passed with Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown’s leadership just over a year ago, the IRA caps out-of-pocket prescription expenses, limits monthly insulin costs to $35 for Medicare recipients, and allows Medicare to negotiate directly with drug companies to reduce prescription medication costs. In this issue of In Union, we dive deeper into the IRA to examine how the legislation makes health care more affordable for Ohio’s working families and seniors.
“The Inflation Reduction Act finally took on the drug companies and lowered drug prices for Americans on Medicare. For years I’ve led efforts to allow Medicare to negotiate directly with drug companies for lower prices. We finally got it done…” Senator Sherrod Brown Op-ed, Ashland Source, 4/14/2023
REAL PEOPLE. REAL STORIES ABOUT HEALTH CARE AND PRESCRIPTION DRUG COSTS.
Ginny B. lives with LEMS syndrome and relies on a drug that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. She used to worry about how she would afford this life-saving medication. But thanks to the IRA’s provision capping out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries, soon Ginny and others like her won’t pay a dime over $2,000 per year for their prescriptions.
The Inflation Reduction Act has eliminated vaccine copays for Medicare recipients, enabling seniors like Susan R. to afford long-awaited vaccinations. As a senior on a fixed income, the $400 copay for the shingles vaccine had been cost-prohibitive. “But I was relieved to see I could get it at no cost after the Inflation Reduction Act passed. It’s been a major blessing to get the shingles vaccine with no copay; this is a life-changing policy.”
Source: invest.gov Source: CAP Action