Some people with Medicare will pay less out-of-pocket for prescription medications for the fourth quarter of this year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said.
The federal agency on Monday identified 54 drugs that had price increases faster than inflation. Under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022, coinsurance rates for these drugs will be adjusted to reflect the inflation rate, and pharmaceutical companies will be penalized in the form of rebates paid to Medicare, the taxpayer-funded federal health care program for seniors.
The selected drugs will have a lowered Part B coinsurance rate from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, with HHS estimating that some patients could save between $1 and $3,854 per day, depending on the medication. For example, a Medicare enrollee taking Kymriah, a cancer drug, could save as much as $3,000 during the period….