BUFFALO, N.Y. — Starting this week, there is a new cap on out-of-pocket spending for seniors enrolled in Medicare Part D.
"We all know the stories. Your doctor tells you you have a very serious illness. That's the bad news. Then the good news. There's a drug that cure it or alay it. And then the bad news. The drug is so expensive you can hardly afford it," New York Senator Chuck Schumer.
U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer says three commonly prescribed cancer drugs cost upwards of $12,000 a year.
As part of the Inflation Reduction Act, starting Monday people enrolled in Medicare Part D have their prescription drug expenses capped at $3,300 in 2024. That's on top of the $35 cap on insulin for people enrolled in Medicare and vaccine coverage that wasn't available before.
Also, the federal government is in the middle of negotiating lower prices with drug companies for ten widely-used expensive drugs.
"And that is going to reduce the costs of major drugs by large amounts for seniors. As soon as the amounts are, as soon as the law goes into effect, which will be shortly, we'll let everybody know how much lower some of these drugs will cost," Schumer said.
Next year, the prescription drug cap will be lowered again.
"In 2025 next year, that number of 3,300 is going to go down to two-thousand per year. Which means, and every senior will have the ability to break this into monthly payments of $167 a month," Schumer said.
When you combine all of these changes, Schumer says New York seniors will save an average of $212 this year on prescription drugs.
In 2025, he says that savings will go up to an average of $390.