August 16th, 2024, marks the two-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the historic law that took on Big Pharma to lower drug prices in Medicare after decades of drug corporation price-gouging. President Biden signed the new law in 2022 after Democrats passed it in both chambers of Congress without any Republican votes.
Although not obvious from the name of the law, the historic IRA is the biggest healthcare policy achievement since the passage of the landmark Affordable Care Act in 2010. That means a lot to celebrate this year and a lot to look forward to as the law is fully implemented.
Here are ten health care achievements of the new law:
- Millions of seniors and people with disabilities are already benefiting from the new law’s insulin cap: 1.5 million Americans who depend on insulin are saving on average $501 annually thanks to the $35 per month insulin cap.
- More than 10 million seniors received the shingles vaccination and other recommended vaccinations free of cost last year under the IRA, which made all vaccinations free for the first time.
- The IRA’s new $2,000 annual out-of-pocket cost cap, effective in 2025, will save 18.7 million Americans an average of $396.08 next year.
- Medicare negotiations, a centerpiece of the law, will save taxpayers $6 billion and Medicare enrollees $1.5 billion on the most expensive and commonly prescribed medicines in Part D starting in 2026. Approximately 9,046,000 Americans are currently taking one or more of the ten drugs with the lower negotiated prices.
- The number of drugs with negotiated prices will increase over the next decade, so consumers and taxpayers will save even more in the future.
- The Inflation Reduction Act stops drug corporations from raising their prices faster than inflation by penalizing the manufacturers for hiking prices arbitrarily.
- In addition to lowering drug prices for people in Medicare, the IRA also makes ACA health coverage more affordable by offering more generous tax credits to buy insurance: an average middle-class family of four saves $6,604 on their yearly premiums under the IRA.
- The Inflation Reduction Act eliminates premiums for ACA coverage for Americans with incomes at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level.
- The IRA also expanded eligibility so that more people qualify for tax credits. Currently, over 90 percent of ACA enrollees received tax credits in 2023.
- Thanks to the ACA improvements under IRA, a record-breaking 21,446,150 Americans enrolled in an ACA marketplace plan in 2024.
Lower costs and record enrollment are just the beginning. The Inflation Reduction Act includes many other related provisions–like requirements for the wealthy and big corporations to pay their fair share of taxes and environmental protection policies that also contribute to better health. These policies reduce pollution, reduce energy costs, and generate resources to invest in lowering healthcare costs and increasing services for people of all ages.
The IRA gives lawmakers a foundation to build on and to extend lower drug prices and more affordable coverage to more people over the coming years. These policies enjoy widespread bipartisan support and are ripe for further action. Moreover, voters this year can protect this progress and signal their support for further policies to lower costs and increase access to health care this November.