Consideration should be given to Medicare price negotiation and limits on out-of-pocket expenses.
by: Dena Bunis, AARP, April 23, 2021
Jo Ann Jenkins, executive director of AARP, strongly urges President Joe Biden to continue his support for policies that will help the nation's seniors afford the life-saving medications they need at a time when the price of prescription drugs continues to rise, she says in her April 23 letter to the nation's chief executive.
"Older adults simply can't afford the out-of-control prices of prescription drugs, and those with chronic disorders will face these high rising costs year after year for the rest of their lives," says Jenkins. "It's alarming that one in three people in the country don't take their prescription drugs because they can't afford them."
Jenkins' letter comes as both Democratic and Republican lawmakers are reintroducing updated versions of bills from the last Congress designed to reduce the cost of prescription drugs, though they are following different paths to do so. Biden will speak to a joint session of Congress on April 28, before launching his American Families Plan, but it is unclear whether that initiative will include any of the health care proposals he touted on the campaign trail.
In his letter, Jenkins especially calls for policies that would allow Medicare to negotiate the price of drugs, particularly brand-name drugs, and for limits on what Medicare beneficiaries pay out-of-pocket for their drugs in the program's Part D, which covers prescription drugs. Medicare enrollees, on average, take four to five prescription drugs each month. According to AARP research, the price of the most commonly used drugs increased at twice the rate of inflation in 2018, a pattern of above-inflation price increases that has continued for more than a decade.
"These reforms will make a big difference in the lives of adults over 50, who too often must choose between taking their medications or paying their bills," Jenkins says.
The proposals of the Congress
Lawmakers from both parties debated how to provide prescription drug cost relief in the last Congress, but no final action was taken.
Democrats on the House Ways and Means, Education and Labor, and Energy and Commerce committees have reintroduced the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, named after the late Maryland congressman. This bill would cap Part D out-of-pocket costs at $2,000 a year, authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate Medicare prescription drug prices, and require drug manufacturers to pay a rebate to the federal government if they raise their prices at a rate greater than inflation. AARP supported the bill, which passed the House in December 2019.
Meanwhile, House Energy and Commerce Republican leaders have reintroduced the Lower Costs, More Choice Act. This measure would limit out-of-pocket costs for people enrolled in the Medicare Part D prescription drug program and would also limit the cost of insulin for beneficiaries in those plans. In addition, it would facilitate the introduction of generic versions of brand-name prescription drugs to the market. But the measure does not include giving Medicare the ability to negotiate prescription drug prices or limit price increases.
"We know this will be a tough fight, but the time to act is now," Jenkins says in his letter to Biden. "We cannot miss this opportunity to bring relief to the nation's seniors."