Biden inflation law messed with seniors’ Medicare coverage. Here’s how | Opinion
It’s been almost two years since President Joe Biden’s so-called Inflation Reduction Act took effect, with the promise of lowering drug costs and increasing access to both prescriptions and coverage. The outcome of this new federal policy has been, not surprisingly, quite different from what was sold to the American people.
The law is yet another example of the Biden administration making unrealistic promises and pretending that Americans will not notice when they have less health coverage, reduced access to prescription drugs and fewer options in the marketplace, all while paying more in premiums. The authors of the inflation law knew that the changes they were making to Medicare would result in higher premiums; they just falsely believed that government controls would prevent consumers from being hit the hardest.
In reality, premiums have increased significantly — by more than 22%, with rates expected to continue to rise. While they do, Plan D options continue to dwindle, with the fewest number of plans available than ever before. In the last year alone more than 100 plans have been removed from the market — a 50% reduction in plans compared to the first year of the program.
Those hardest hit by this Biden policy: low-income Americans who are already living paycheck to paycheck. Lo-w income seniors have far fewer options today than they did this time last year. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, there has been a 34% reduction in plans offered to those seniors. We are doing a disservice to our most vulnerable by reducing their options for care.
Not only has the Biden inflation law resulted in more out-of-pocket costs to Americans, but the impact of government intervention into the marketplace has also drastically reduced the amount of funding that goes toward research and development for new treatments. While this program was heralded as one of “innovation” and “ingenuity,” there is nothing to celebrate when costs go up and options go away. In fact, this is something we should be quite ashamed of. It’s a reminder of why every Republican member of Congress voted against the Inflation Reduction Act.
When Congress passed the law in 2022, many promises were made. Time has shown how quickly the administration forgot those promises. It’s time we use our voices to push back against government intervention in healthcare and demand that all price discounts negotiated between drug manufacturers and insurance companies actually go to patients.
It’s just another reminder that in Joe Biden’s America, everything costs more.
