How the Inflation Reduction Act Will Reduce Health Care Costs for Older Adults
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Statement of Ramsey Alwin, Chair of the Leadership Council of Aging Organizations, on Support for Senate Reconciliation Proposals to Reduce Health Care Costs for Older Adults
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Simona Combi
Public Relations Manager
571-527-3982
simona.combi@ncoa.org
Arlington, VA (August 2, 2022) — The Leadership Council of Aging Organizations (LCAO) supports the Senate budget reconciliation proposals in the Inflation Reduction Act to reduce Medicare prescription drug costs and continue expiring Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium subsidies.
Specifically, LCAO supports the Senate prescription drug provisions to:
- Allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices
- Limit drug price increases
- Cap annual out-of-pocket costs at $2,000, including a smoothing mechanism to limit costs each month
- Reduce premiums and cost sharing for low-income beneficiaries
We also support proposals to provide zero cost-sharing for vaccines and cap monthly insulin costs at $35 per month.
These provisions will go a long way in making prescription drugs much more affordable for millions of older adults, including those with the lowest incomes for whom expensive medications are out of reach.
LCAO also supports the Senate proposal to extend the Affordable Care Act premium subsidies for an additional three years. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, “[A] 64-year-old Marketplace enrollee making just over four times the poverty level in West Virginia or Wyoming would have to pay more than 40% of their income for a silver plan if they lost access to the ARPA [American Rescue Plan Act] subsidies. That would amount to an increase of over 380% in their premium payment.”
In addition, we urge the Senate to include an investment in Medicaid home and community-based services, for example, by extending American Rescue Plan funding for these important services.
About LCAO
The Leadership Council of Aging Organizations is a coalition of 68 national nonprofit organizations concerned with the well-being of America’s older population and committed to representing their interests in the policy-making arena. The chairing organization for the 2022-2023 year is the National Council on Aging. Learn more at lcao.org or follow at @LCAgingOrgs.
