Lori Trahan: Why I voted ‘yes’ on the Inflation Reduction Act

By: Lori Trahan

When I’m deciding how to vote on legislation in Washington, there’s one question I always ask: Would this help families here in Massachusetts like the one I grew up in? When it comes to the Inflation Reduction Act, the health care savings headed families’ way made answering that question easy.

Growing up, my parents worked hard to provide a better life for my three sisters and me. They went to work each day, budgeted to put food on the table and keep a roof over our heads, and cut costs wherever we could to make ends meet. Like a lot of families, we lived in fear of a major health complication that we might not be able to afford.

That fear became reality when my dad was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis while I was in school, and shortly after graduation, I moved back home to be closer to my family and help out around the house. I still remember the difficult discussions our family had about paying for the medications and treatments the doctors recommended. And I recall the anxiety that even with the quality health insurance we were fortunate to have through his union, some treatment options were still out of reach.

The decisions you’re forced to make in those moments feel impossible. It’s a horrible feeling that I’d never wish on anyone, but millions of families across our nation are having to make those calls right now, including thousands of working families right here in the Commonwealth.

They’re facing a health care issue they couldn’t have seen coming, a crisis they had no chance to prepare for. They’re having the same conversations at the dinner table that my family did about how they’re going to get the lifesaving care their son or daughter or their mom or dad needs, and how they’re going to afford it.

When I voted for the Inflation Reduction Act this past Friday, I did so with those folks in mind. Put simply, this landmark legislation will drastically reduce health care costs for families, particularly working families that are living one hospital visit away from financial danger.

For the first time in our nation’s history, Medicare will be empowered to negotiate the price of the most expensive medications, including lifesaving drugs like insulin. It also finally holds pharmaceutical corporations that have made record profits by jacking up the price of their drugs accountable for price gouging Medicare recipients.

These provisions alone will lower premiums and prescription costs for millions of Massachusetts residents, many of whom are thinking about rationing the next dose of their life saving medicine. But the Inflation Reduction Act doesn’t stop there.

The legislation also caps premium costs for families who fall into the “family glitch,” which happens when someone is forced to pay a ridiculous amount of their income for health insurance through their employer. Families that benefit from this new cap would see hundreds or even thousands of dollars in savings each year.

And for individuals and families with lower incomes, the Inflation Reduction Act lowers premium costs so they can afford health coverage. For example, a Massachusetts family of three making $44,000 a year won’t have to pay more than $880 in a year for coverage if they get it through the Health Connector. That means families once living in fear of a trip to the emergency room can now have confidence that they’re covered if something happens.

In total, middle-and working-class families across Massachusetts will see their health insurance bills drop because of this legislation. They’ll see the prices at the pharmacy counter go down. And for many, those savings could total in the thousands of dollars each year.

When this legislation is signed into law by the president this week, the only ones who lose are the billion-dollar corporations and the extremely wealthy who have been dodging their tax bills for years. That’s because they’re finally going to have to pay their fair share, which will not only cover these savings that families desperately need right now, but also reduce the federal deficit by $300 billion.

The Inflation Reduction Act is good for families, good for our nation, and with additional investments to combat the climate crisis, it’s good for our planet too. This is what it looks like when Congress puts people over politics — casting aside the demands of special interests and actually working for the people who need help most.

I voted yes on Friday because working families deserve better, and the Inflation Reduction Act will finally deliver for them.