The Truth Behind the IRA by Marion Mass and Andy Mangione
Nearly every senator who voted for the Inflation Reduction Act celebrated its second anniversary, claiming that the legislation reduced healthcare costs for Americans. Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Vice President Kamala Harris, who cast the tie-breaking vote for the IRA, are counting that Americans won’t look for the facts beyond the headlines.
Healthcare spending now accounts for 20 percent of our nation’s economy. We’ve nearly doubled our spending since Obamacare’s broken promise of affordability. Worse yet, growing health insurance costs are chewing up an increasing proportion of what American workers take home, with a higher percentage of wages going toward premiums, especially among Black, Hispanic, and lower-income workers.
The problem has accelerated, with the biggest spikes in individual and family premiums between 2022 and 2023.
Earlier this year in Pennsylvania, Casey laid out bold claims about the IRA that turned out to be false advertising.
What were those falsehoods?
The IRA is “Lowering Prescription Costs,” Casey claimed. However, prices for new drugs rose 35 percent in 2023, more than in previous years.
The IRA is “Reducing Health Care Premiums,”Casey stated. He is wrong again.As reported in Politico, the IRA machinations were set to cause premiums to rise this November for Medicare patients. An embarrassing problem the Biden administration is trying to cover up by raiding the national piggy bank by $5 billion a year. In other words, the policy was not only going to cause increased costs for seniors but forced American taxpayers to pay to hide their mistakes.
Casey remains silent, as does the White House, while Republicans in the Senate and House challenge the highly politicized move.
Casey claims the IRA “caps insulin at $35 a month.” Savvy Americans read the smaller print to know that the cap is for the co-pay only, not the total price. While Casey and Biden like to take credit for the insulin cap, it was a pharma CEO who floated the idea in 2019 for Medicare patients. The pharmaceutical companies capped the co-pay cost of insulin for patients during the pandemic.
While the IRA cheerleaders blamed pharma for the cost of drugs, they ignored the drug middlemen, pharmacy benefit managers, whose “rebates” accounted for 80 percent of the cost of insulin and similar amounts for other drugs. Those who voted for the IRA gave the PBMs a free pass in the IRA by repealing a Trump-era executive order that would have steered $200 billion annual worth of those rebates directly to patients at the pharmacy counter.
Worse yet, the IRA has stifled innovation in one of America’s most fruitful sectors — the biotech industry. This is especially a problem for Americans with cancer whose lives depend on discoveries.
Instead of pretending the IRA is a smashing success, legislators might turn toward bipartisan legislation from the House of Representatives that is gaining traction. Reps. Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts and Diana Harshbarger, a pharmacist from Tennessee, worked across the aisle to introduce the Pharmacists Fight Back Now Act.
The legislation ensures that most “rebates” end up in the pockets of seniors instead of PBM piggybanks. American Pharmacy Cooperative Inc. data show that the bill will decrease the out-of-pocket costs of seniors by $40 billion yearly. In addition, the bill prevents PBM middlemen from paying independent pharmacists less than their cost to do business and prevents PBMs from steering patients to their vertically integrated big-box pharmacies. This will allow trusted, independent mom-and-pop pharmacies to survive.
While Harris and Casey high-five each other to hide the colossal failures of the IRA, hard-working Americans will continue to pay more. Americans are wise enough to know that inflation has not just affected food and gas, it’s caused a healthcare problem, too. Casey and Harris have proven that their failed policies are responsible for the growing cost of healthcare. It’s time to stop doubling down on failed policy and lift bipartisan legislation like the Pharmacists Fight Back Act that strikes at the heart of the PBM middlemen responsible for increased costs.
Marion Mass is a practicing pediatrician and is a board member of Free2care, a coalition of 8 million patients and physician advocates. She wrote this for InsideSources.com.
Andy Mangione is senior vice president of AMAC Action, the advocacy affiliate of the Association of Mature American Citizens. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.
AMAC Action Launches Multi-State GOTV Effort
With numerous measures, including critical constitutional amendment proposals, on state ballots this election, AMAC Action has launched get-out-the-vote (GOTV) campaigns in key states to provide additional incentives to get AMAC members to the polls. The campaigns are intended to inform AMAC members of specific details regarding the measures to counter the dark money, multi-million-dollar advertising promotions that distort so-called “facts” and distract voters from the true intent of certain proposals.
These important propositions could radically change the way elections are conducted, affect voting rights, upend state Congressional delegations, and seriously impact the rights of the unborn. They range from an amendment that would enshrine unlimited abortion in the Florida state constitution to amendments that would prevent non-citizen voting in the states of Missouri, Kentucky, Wisconsin, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Oklahoma.
Additionally, there are ballot measures that would either support, oppose, or recall ranked-choice voting or versions thereof, in Alaska, Colorado, Missouri, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Montana, and Idaho. AMAC members have long been opposed to ranked-choice voting and its complex, confusing method of voting and vote tabulation.
AMAC members in Ohio received an AMAC Action missive notifying them of the dangers of Issue 1, a proposal that is being sold as an end to gerrymandering but would actually include it in Ohio’s Constitution. Under Issue 1, redistricting would be managed by an unelected, unaccountable commission. Members of the commission may serve with minimum, if any, qualifications and once appointed cannot be removed.
In South Dakota, Arizona, Idaho, and Montana, voters will decide on the future of partisan primaries which are under fire from proposals that would foster one-party-only choices, disenfranchise voters, and produce results that do not mirror the desires of voters. Voters in Connecticut will have the opportunity to vote on whether to allow absentee ballot requests to anyone without a required reason.
AMAC Action’s GOTV initiative launched late last week and will continue through the end of this week. Each of the campaign’s messages includes a reminder for AMAC members to vote early in person if they can, and more states could be added before the general election on November 5.
AMAC Action President Bob Carlstrom is aware of the high level of motivation AMAC members have for this election saying, “After nearly four years of the Biden-Harris administration’s open borders, runaway inflation, skyrocketing increases in violent crime, and weak foreign policy, our members are primed to vote in this election. Our get-out-the-vote initiative is designed to drill down the details of super important ballot measures that are state specific.” Carlstrom continued, “AMAC Action has been involved in these issues since they were first proposed in state legislatures earlier this year, and we were instrumental in getting some of them on the ballot for the November election. All we’re doing is providing even more impetus for AMAC members to get out and vote – hopefully early and in person.”
Calls-to-Action
Vote NO on Amendment 4!
There is a well-funded effort underway to fool Floridians into supporting Amendment 4 which would enshrine an absolute right to abortion up until birth in Florida’s state constitution. Amendment 4 is deliberately worded to mislead voters and achieve what its supporters ultimately desire: unlimited abortion up to the moment of birth without protections for the baby and without parental consent for underage mothers.
Additionally, Amendment 4 would repeal all commonsense laws enacted by duly elected state representatives, including the recently passed Heartbeat Law.
Please help to save precious human life, the futures of our children, and stand up for the pre-born who cannot defend themselves. Vote NO on Amendment 4!
Why You Should Vote EARLY
– You’ll experience shorter lines and better poll worker performance
– It allows election officials to correct registration errors and fix voting system glitches earlier.
– Early voting provides flexibility to voters who can’t take time off during the week to vote.
– You also avoid potentially bad weather on election day and some polling has shown that early voting enjoys popular support.
But here is perhaps the greatest reason to vote early…
Democrats have a history of turning out their vote early and banking sizable vote tallies for their candidates.
You may rest assured that Democrats will be out in full force early in the General Election, which makes it imperative that we take advantage of early voting days in our states and bank as many votes for our candidates as possible.
VOTE EARLY! And spread the word!
To watch Senior Vice President Andy Mangione’s AMAC Action Spotlight: Early Voting, click here.
Protect Elections: Volunteer as a Poll Worker
Time is running out before the November 5 election! We need you to stand up and serve as a poll observer or election worker! Your help is indispensable to ensure that our elections are conducted securely and fairly. We need as much conservative involvement as we can muster to counter the attempts by the Democrats to corrupt our elections.
Get involved this year by signing up to become a poll observer or election worker. A quick click on the link below will start the simple process.
The work done at your local polling precinct during the election is usually divided between political parties and Democrats are more than happy to snap up these positions should not enough conservatives come forward.
Now more than ever, your country needs you. Won’t you stand up to the Democrats and their insatiable lust for power as they attempt to alter the outcome of this election?
Please join with your fellow AMAC members in standing up to protect our sacred right to vote and preserve the integrity of our elections by signing up to become a poll observer or election worker today.
Stop Ranked-Choice Voting in Alaska
Here’s how you can make a difference:
1. Spread the Word: Talk to your friends, family, and neighbors about the importance of ending Ranked-Choice Voting. Share information on social media, help organize events, distribute materials, and mobilize voters.
2. Volunteer: Join our team of dedicated volunteers to help with campaign activities. Whether it’s canvassing, phone banking, or distributing literature, your time and effort are invaluable.
3. Visit: www.yeson2ak.com to learn more.
Meetings
October 14 Candidate Forum: AMAC Action State Advocacy Representative John Whelan hosted a candidate forum for candidates for MN-02 in the U.S. House of Representatives.
October 16 All-State Meeting: AZ-08 Delegate Nikki Colletti hosted the virtual Arizona All-State Meeting. Sheri Lopez, survivor and educator of human trafficking, spoke about human trafficking in America and Proposition 313 on Arizona’s November 2024 ballot.
October 16 Meet & Greet: PA-11 Delegate Paul Buckwalter hosted the Meet & Greet event between AMAC members and Congressman Lloyd Smucker (PA-11), who spoke about Social Security.
October 17 Chapter Meeting: AK-At Large Delegate Robert Coulter hosted the chapter meeting. Kari Reese and Gayle Hadley led a discussion on ways conservatives can get out the vote, win in the 2024 election, and how to understand ranked-choice voting.
October 17 All-State Meeting: VA-11 Delegate Song Park hosted the virtual Virginia All-State Meeting and Palmer Schoening, President of Schoening Strategies, discussed the 2024 Election.
Action ☆ Academy
Why the West Won
In the 5-minute video Why the West Won Niall Ferguson, Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, explains why Western Civilization has culturally and economically dominated the world for the past few centuries. PragerU is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that promotes American values in short educational videos for people of all ages.
Term of the Week: Judicial Review
The principle by which courts can declare acts of either the EXECUTIVE BRANCH or the LEGISLATIVE BRANCH unconstitutional. The SUPREME COURT has exercised this power, for example, to revoke state laws that denied CIVIL RIGHTS guaranteed by the CONSTITUTION. (See also CHECKS AND BALANCES.)
(Hirsch et al., The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy 332)
Class for September and October
Western Heritage: From the Book of Genesis to John Locke
The foundations of Western Civilization are rooted in the civilizations of the ancient Hebrews and classical Greeks, and the West’s greatest accomplishments can be traced back to these beginnings. Discover the history and unique character of Western Civilization and learn how its essential elements culminated in the American Founding in Hillsdale College’s free online course Western Heritage: From the Book of Genesis to John Locke. This 11-session course includes lessons on the ancient Hebrews, classical Greece and Rome, early Christianity, the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Scientific Revolution, and much more.
Quote of the Week
“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.”
― Winston Churchill
Fight to save the America we love! If you’d like to become a volunteer AMAC Action Delegate, please contact us at (855) 809-6976 or [email protected].
