The US House of Representatives has passed the Inflation Reduction Act which limits the cost of insulin for senior citizens enrolled in Medicare.
The Act also extends the Covid expansion of Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance premium tax credits which provided financial assistance to prevent disruption to their healthcare during the pandemic.
It caps the cost of all prescription drugs at $2,000 per year for seniors who have Medicare Part D and allows Medicare providers to negotiate the price of some of the most expensive prescription drugs directly with drug manufacturers, reducing the cost of the medications to seniors.
Lisa Murdock, chief advocacy officer for the American Diabetes Association, said: “The American Diabetes Association has been the leading organization advocating for copay caps for insulin, resulting in the enactment of these cost-sharing limits in 22 states and the District of Columbia.
“While we have more work to do to expand this benefit to all people with diabetes who rely on insulin to survive, this first national copay cap is a significant step in the right direction and a potentially life-saving policy change for seniors.”
Dr Robert Gabbay, the association’s chief scientific and medical officer, added: “Having health insurance is the single strongest predictor of whether adults with diabetes have access to high-quality healthcare and are able to manage their diabetes.
“Uninsured Americans who are at risk for diabetes and its complications are much less likely to receive a diagnosis, and if they do get a diagnosis, they still average 60% fewer office visits with a physician and experience 168 percent more hospital visits than their insured counterparts. The expansion of these ACA health insurance subsidies will literally save lives of people with diabetes.”