Inflation Reduction Act

via Pennie:

Congress Urged to Act Now to Prevent Increase in Health Coverage Costs For Pennsylvanians

The enhanced premium tax credits from the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act have placed high-quality health coverage within reach for hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians. Unless Congress extends these savings, many Pennsylvanians will lose the coverage that protects their health and financial security.

Pennsylvania – September 11, 2024 – Yesterday, Devon Trolley, Executive Director of Pennie – PA’s official health insurance marketplace – and Chairman of the Pennie Board, Michael Humphreys, issued a letter to Pennsylvania’s representatives in Congress strongly urging them to act now to extend the enhanced premium tax credits that dramatically reduce the cost of health coverage through Pennie for hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians.

I'm obviously a major proponent of making the enhanced ACA premium subsidies originally included in the American Rescue Plan (and later extended by another three years by the Inflation Reduction Act) permanent...or at the very least bumped out by another few years.

At the same time, I'm not naive enough to think that there's any realistic chance of that happening before January given the current makeup of the House of Representatives.

Even so, healthcare reform advocacy organizations like Families USA are making the strongest case they can for getting Congress to extend the subsidies for at least one year as soon as possible for practical reasons. Via Amy Lotven of Inside Health Policy:

The official 2024 ACA Open Enrollment Period (OEP) ended last night in most states, but millions of Americans are still eligible to #GetCovered!

This is the best OEP ever for the ACA for several reasons:

• The expanded/enhanced premium subsidies first introduced in 2021 via the American Rescue Plan, which make premiums more affordable for those who already qualified while expanding eligibility to millions who weren't previously eligible, are continuing through 2025 via the Inflation Reduction Act;

• A dozen states are either launching or expanding their own state-based subsidy programs to make ACA plans even more affordable for their enrollees;

• Millions more Americans who weren't previously eligible for ACA subsidies (even with the expanded ARP/IRA enhancements) are now eligible via the Biden Administration's closure of the so-called "Family Glitch."

And remember, millions of people will be eligible for zero premium comprehensive major medical policies.

If you've never enrolled in an ACA healthcare policy before, or if you looked into it a few years back but weren't impressed, please give it another shot now. Thanks to these major improvements it's a whole different ballgame.

Here's some important things to know when you #GetCovered for 2024:

via U.S. News:

Managing diabetes will be a less expensive proposition for more Americans in 2024.

Sanofi has officially joined Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly in lowering the cost of insulin to $35 a month for many patients. The three drug makers are also drastically lowering the list prices for their insulin products.

The price-cutting moves were first announced last spring, but some of them didn’t take effect until Jan. 1.

...Over 8 million Americans need insulin to survive, but up to a quarter of those patients haven't been able to afford the medication and have dangerously rationed doses, according to the ADA.

Now, thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, Medicare enrollees pay no more than $35 a month for their insulin prescriptions.

The 2024 ACA Open Enrollment Period (OEP) is STILL ongoing in 49 states +DC.

This is the best OEP ever for the ACA for several reasons:

• The expanded/enhanced premium subsidies first introduced in 2021 via the American Rescue Plan, which make premiums more affordable for those who already qualified while expanding eligibility to millions who weren't previously eligible, are continuing through 2025 via the Inflation Reduction Act;

• A dozen states are either launching or expanding their own state-based subsidy programs to make ACA plans even more affordable for their enrollees;

• Millions more Americans who weren't previously eligible for ACA subsidies (even with the expanded ARP/IRA enhancements) are now eligible via the Biden Administration's closure of the so-called "Family Glitch."

And remember, millions of people will be eligible for zero premium comprehensive major medical policies.

If you've never enrolled in an ACA healthcare policy before, or if you looked into it a few years back but weren't impressed, please give it another shot now. Thanks to these major improvements it's a whole different ballgame.

Here's some important things to know when you #GetCovered for 2024:

via the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS):

For the first time, Medicare is able to directly negotiate the prices of prescription drugs due to President Biden’s prescription drug law, the Inflation Reduction Act. Today, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure issued the following statement on the announcement that the drug companies that manufacture all 10 drugs selected for the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program for the first cycle have chosen to participate in the Negotiation Program. The negotiations with participating drug companies for the selected drugs will occur in 2023 and 2024 with the negotiated prices effective beginning in 2026. 

Yesterday the U.S. Census Bureau published new reports on Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States as of 2022. Obviously all three of these are extremely important and interact closely with each other, but given that my focus is healthcare policy, I'm going to stick with the health insurance coverage portion.

According to the 2023 Current Population Survey Annual Social & Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC):

...92.1% of the U.S. population had health insurance coverage for all or part of 2022 (compared to 91.7% in 2021). An estimated 25.9 million or 7.9% of people did not have health insurance at any point during 2022, according to the 2023 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC). That compares to 27.2 million or 8.3% of people who did not have health insurance at any point during 2021.

via the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS):

Inflation Reduction Act Continues to Lower Out-of-Pocket Prescription Drug Costs for Drugs with Price Increases Above Inflation

• CMS announces savings for some people with Medicare on 34 Part B prescription drugs

A continuing key priority of the Biden-Harris Administration is lowering prescription drug costs for seniors and families. Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the list of 34 prescription drugs for which Part B beneficiary coinsurances may be lower between October 1 – December 31, 2023. Some people with Medicare who take these drugs may save between $1 and $618 per average dose starting October 1, 2023, depending on their individual coverage. Through the Inflation Reduction Act, President Biden and his Administration are lowering prescription drug costs for millions of American seniors and their families. 

via the Maryland Insurance Administration:

Aetna CVS Health will join Maryland Health Exchange individual market in 2024

BALTIMORE – Aetna, a CVS Health company, has filed to offer its Aetna CVS Health individual health plans through Maryland Health Connection in 2024, giving consumers across Maryland another option for health coverage through the state-maintained marketplace.

“This is great news for the individuals and families who choose their health insurance coverage through the Maryland Health Connection marketplace,” said Governor Wes Moore. “It is vitally important for consumers to have choices to select the best plan for their needs. Maryland continues to be a national leader in maintaining a robust, affordable marketplace.”

Currently, three insurers – CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, Kaiser Permanente and UnitedHealthcare – offer individual market health plans through Maryland Health Connection.