LOWELL, MA – Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03) announced that families in Massachusetts’ Third Congressional District will soon see more affordable prescription drugs for Medicare recipients and lower health insurance premiums made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act.
“When my dad was battling MS, we struggled to figure out ways to pay for the prescription drugs and care he needed. For far too long, big corporations have taken advantage of working families like the one I grew up in. With the Inflation Reduction Act now the law of the land, we’re reining in the out-of-control health care costs that Big Pharma has used to rake in obscene profits,” said Congresswoman Trahan. “I’m proud of my vote to pass this historic legislation that will benefit millions of families here in Massachusetts and across our nation.”
Inflation Reduction Act benefits for Third Congressional District residents include:
Affordable Health Care
- By extending critical tax credits set to expire this year, the Inflation Reduction Act will help 18,000 people in the district currently enrolled in subsidized marketplace health insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act save an average of $840 in premiums starting next year.
- Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, a family in the district with two adults, two children, and a household income of $75,000 could save $2,832 on their premiums next year.
- A single-parent household with one adult, one child, and a household income of $30,000 could save $1,260 on their premiums next year.
- A household of two adults over the age of 60 with a joint income of $70,000 could save $9,768 on their premiums next year.
Lower Prescription Drug Costs
- The Inflation Reduction Act caps Medicare beneficiaries’ annual out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs covered by Medicare Part D at $2,000 per year starting in 2025. An estimated 1,000 Medicare Part D beneficiaries in the district had out-of-pocket costs above $2,000 in 2020.
- For the estimated 5,300 Medicare beneficiaries receiving insulin in the district, the new law will cap monthly copayments for insulin products at $35 per month.
- The Inflation Reduction Act finally allows the government to negotiate lower drug prices with Big Pharma. If the Inflation Reduction Act’s drug pricing provisions had been fully in effect in 2020:
- The total cost of prescriptions filled by Medicare beneficiaries in the district could have been $27 million lower.
- Medicare beneficiaries in the district could have saved a total of $8 million in reduced premiums and out-of-pocket costs.
Trahan wrote about her support for the healthcare provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act in a Lowell Sun op-ed, Why I voted ‘yes’ on the Inflation Reduction Act.
The report on the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act health coverage provisions for 3rd District residents can be found HERE.
The report on the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act Medicare drug pricing provisions for 3rd District residents can be found HERE.
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