Prescription Drug Costs

Of the nearly $1 billion saved in prescription drug costs during the first half of 2024 as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act, $78.5 million represented savings to Floridians, according to White House Senior Advisor on Health Christen Linke Young, on a call with WGCU Wednesday. The data comes from the Office of Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. About 1.5 million seniors saved money because of the cap.The savings comes to seniors with Medicare Part D, whose out-of-pocket prescription drug costs are capped at around $3,500 this year. It affected 105,000 people in Florida, Young said. For 2025, prescription drug costs will be capped at $2,000. A report from the Department of Health and Human Services shows that if that cap had been in effect this year, 4.6 million enrollees nationally would have hit it by June 30 and would not have had to pay any more out-of-pocket costs for the rest of the year.Prior to the Inflation Reduction Act, there was not limit to the amount of out-of-pocket drug costs Medicare enrollees might pay for their medication. The Biden-Harris administration implemented the first cap on out-of-pocket drug costs on Jan. 1 of this year.

Governor Ron DeSantis announced a new executive order, July 8, aimed at adding transparency to the role of pharmacy benefit managers in administering prescription drug programs, that he says may be contributing to increasing medication costs. At a press conference in Cape Coral, DeSantis also said the state could wind up in a legal battle with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration over the federal government’s delay in approving Florida’s Canadian drug importation program.

President Donald Trump’s campaign swing through Florida Friday included an invitation-only event in Downtown Fort Myers to highlight his administration's efforts to protect seniors.

The disproportionately higher cost of prescription drugs in the U.S. compared to prices in other countries is not just an issue for individual patients.…