The Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare drug price negotiations and other provisions will lower the cost of prescription drugs for millions of women

April 3, 2024 - On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) released new research showing how key Inflation Reduction Act provisions will lower costs for women enrolled in Medicare, including nearly 30 million women enrolled in Part D. Also, today, HHS announced that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) responded to counteroffers from all manufacturers participating in Medicare drug price negotiations – which the Inflation Reduction Act made possible – and invited them to participate in further discussions.

The ASPE findings show that in 2020, about 733,000 women enrolled in Medicare Part D and Part B would have benefited from the Inflation Reduction Act’s $35 per month cap on cost sharing for Medicare-covered insulin products, and, in 2021, about two million women would not have had any out-of-pocket costs for their recommended Part D covered adult vaccines. Because of the law’s redesign of the Medicare Part D benefit, about 857,000 women who are not enrolled in the Extra Help program are projected to save $1,000 or more in 2025.

“The Inflation Reduction Act is making prescription drugs more affordable for women with Medicare,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “President Biden promised to make quality, affordable health care available to every American – and he is delivering on that promise. Now that we are negotiating directly with pharmaceutical manufacturers to bring down the price of prescription drugs for people on Medicare, there will be even more savings in the future. That’s more money going into the pockets of hardworking Americans, instead of Big Pharma.”

“Women throughout the country are disproportionally impacted by high health care costs. President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act is bridging this gap by lowering prescription drug costs and making health care more accessible for women – and all people – with Medicare,” said CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. “CMS is proud to be negotiating in good faith with drug manufacturers to lower the prices of some of the most expensive drugs for people with Medicare.”

Some of the key ASPE findings include:

• Among Medicare enrollees, women have disproportionately higher rates of certain health conditions relative to men, including Alzheimer’s disease, asthma, fibromyalgia, osteoporosis, and certain types of cancer, which can lead to high prescription drug costs. Women therefore stand to gain more from lower drug costs and caps on annual out-of-pocket costs made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act.
• Women are disproportionately represented among Medicare enrollees in the Extra Help program, benefiting from expansion of the program’s benefits under the Inflation Reduction Act.
• Nearly two million women received one of the recommend vaccines that are now free for people with Medicare in 2021.

“Most Medicare Part D enrollees are women, and some conditions that can be effectively treated with prescription drugs are more than likely to affect women than men – such as autoimmune disorders,” said ASPE’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Rebecca Haffajee. “ASPE research demonstrates that women and men who are seniors or who have disabilities are already saving money on prescription drugs under the President’s drug pricing law, and these savings will increase as more of the law’s provisions take effect over the next few years.”

Learn more about how the Inflation Reduction Act will help women here.

More information and helpful resources about the Inflation Reduction Act and how it is helping lower costs for people with Medicare can be found at LowerDrugCosts.gov.
Source: HHS