Inflation Reduction Act - Medicine
Storyboard Text
- Meet Susan and Michael. They are married with two kids, and both of them retired 15 years ago.
- Already!? It's only been a month since the last one!
- Honey, take a look at this. The price of our medication has been increased again
- $$
- I don't know...maybe Ms.Ira might know something. She's so knowledgeable about everything. Let me call.
- The inflation is really going out of hand! How are we going to afford our medication? We are struggle enough already.
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- Hi Mr. and Mrs. Smith! I heard that you were struggling with the rising medicine prices and came to help.
- Thank you for coming! Please come inside
- So what's the matter? Could I hear more about the specifics?
- Yes.. we just found out that prices for our arthritis drugs has gone up even more!
- $$
- This is too much for us to handle, alongside the absurd cost for insulin every year for my Type 1 diabetes.
- Wow that sure does sound troubling...
- On the good note, I think the Inflation Reduction Act will be able to help you two!
- Inflation Reduction Act?
- To those who aren't familiar, the Inflation Reduction Act made multiple changes to Medicare to make healthcare more affordable to senior citizens.
- The IRA plans to negotiate cost for some Part B an Part D medicine while expanding benefit and capping out-of-pocket spending for Medicare.
- For detailed questions about Medicare and how IRA could apply to you, phone this number: 1-800-633-4277 (1-800-MEDICARE) and be sure to have your Medicare number available.
- Wow, that's a relief to hear! We are currently spending $60 per vial, and this has been a real pressure for us.
- Firstly, you wouldn't have to worry too much about the insulin prices. The IRA capped the insulin price to $35 to all the Medicare beneficiaries.
- You also mentioned inflation during your call, but doing some research I found that that the medicine prices have been rising even faster than inflation rate, which is absurd!
- No wonder why!
- Well now this is going to be in control thanks to the IRA. From now on, manufacturers will be forced to pay a rebate if the price of a drug in Part D rises faster than the rate of inflation.
- In addition to that, you may be eligible under the new requirements for Low-Income Subsidy (LIS) Program since you are already enrolled in Part D Medicare.
- I don't think I've heard of that. What is LIS?
- The LIS , also known as Extra Help, helps people pay Medicare drug coverage premium, deductibles, and coinsurance. You can enroll in LIS if your monthly income is below a certain limit.
- LIS/Extra Help
- BEFORE IRA------------ 135% poverty rate = full LIS benefit135~150% = partial LIS benefit
- LIS/Extra Help
- After IRA------------ 150% poverty rate = full LIS benefit
- This IRA expanded qualifications for LIS, so be sure to check out if you fall under the new requirements for LIS!
- And the good news is....you are now eligible for the full LIS benefits based on your income! You will be able to see a drastic price difference in your arthritis drugs.
- Under some conditions, you may be auto-enrolled in the Extra Help. However, if you didn't receive a notice, then be sure to visit this link to apply: https://secure.ssa.gov/i1020/start or call Social Security at: 1-800-722-1213 (TTY: 1-800-325-0778)
- Wow! We will definitely have to apply for the LIS!
- Thank you so much for all this information Ms. Ira! This is really going to change how much we are going to be spending on medication from now on. I'm really glad I called you to learn more about IRA.
- I'm really glad I was able to help you today, and feel free to reach out to me anytime you have other questions about the IRA.
- As you have seen, the IRA can benefit anybody enrolled in Medicare in various ways. There are multiple additional benefits that are going to be implemented in the following years, so be sure to keep an eye out!
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