Tour educates seniors about lower drug prices
LAS VEGAS, NV — On Day 17 of Protect Our Care’s “Medicare is Better Than Ever” tour, Founder and President of the Asian Community Development Council Vida Lin, Dr. Yoojin Lee Sedera, and Medicare beneficiary German Cabansag joined Protect Our Care for an event in Las Vegas to educate seniors across the nation about new benefits thanks to legislation signed into law last year by President Biden.
As seniors begin to enroll in their 2024 Medicare plans, they could save thousands of dollars on their prescription drug costs, with even more savings down the road. Over three weeks, Protect Our Care will travel to more than 10 states, make more than 25 stops, and travel over 7,000 miles.
The highlighted all of the new cost-saving benefits for seniors in the Inflation Reduction Act, including:
- Medicare negotiation for lower drug prices
- A $35 monthly copay cap on insulin
- Free shingles and other essential vaccinations
- $2,000 out-of-pocket caps on prescription drugs beginning in 2025
Right now, the Biden administration is in the process of lowering prices for the first round of high-cost prescription drugs under the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program, and those prices will take effect in 2026. The first ten drugs selected for negotiation are taken by nearly 9 million people on Medicare, who spent $3.4 billion in out-of-pocket costs last year alone. This new program will lower prices for some of the highest-priced prescription drugs on the market used to treat conditions like diabetes, heart failure, blood clots, and autoimmune disorders.