“We finally beat Medicare,” President Joe Biden claimed during his calamitous June 27 debate with former President Donald Trump.
The White House later clarified: “He meant to say that he beat big pharma.”
But seniors’ wallets are taking the beating.
Changes made to Medicare’s prescription drug coverage by the Biden-Harris administration and congressional Democrats—with not a single Republican vote—as part of the so-called Inflation Reduction Act are sending premiums sky-high, eliminating plans for at least 3 million seniors, and making it harder to access medications.
The data shows that under four years of Biden-Harris administration policies (plan years 2022 through 2025), the national average monthly premium paid by Medicare beneficiaries for stand-alone Part D prescription drug plans has increased by 57%.
At the same time, the average number of plans offered in each state has dropped by more than one-half, from 29 in 2021 to just 14 in 2025.
Seniors in some states face even bigger hits to their wallets. Under the Biden-Harris administration, Medicare drug plan premiums jumped by more than 90% in 10 states. Premiums more than doubled in three of those states (California, 122%; New York, 116%; and Nevada, 104%).
On Oct. 1, seniors were able to start “window shopping” Medicare drug plans for next year and will be able to enroll in their chosen plans starting Tuesday, Oct. 15. Many of them already are expressing their sticker shock on community forms:
“So I just got a new notice telling me that my drug plan D (not an advantage plan since I am on SSDI in NJ under 65) the monthly cost for 2025 has doubled. Plan still makes me pay high cost for anything not generic etc. I thought this new law was to reduce my overall cost but reading the updated booklet (AARP United Healthcare plan) seems to me the higher cost is going to pad them not me.”
“… [my] husband’s increase was over 650%. And deductible also increased over 100%. You are going to want to check the formulary list if taking any prescription meds. One of the expensive meds husband is on wasn’t pricing out … when I went to the government website for [Aetna] SilverScript, it’s because it’s not covered anymore (nor is the generic covered) …”
“They are no longer offering the plan I have this year for next year. This company is only offering one plan D, not 3 like last year. My current premium is $9.90 and my 3 prescriptions have a $0 copay per month. The new plan is $44.90 with $5 and $10 copays per month. That is a huge increase.”
To prevent seniors from experiencing an even bigger sticker shock just before the Nov. 5 election, the Biden-Harris administration decided to spend—without congressional authorization or approval—at least another $5 billion. The spending is for a new “demonstration project” that pays insurers extra if they agree not to increase premiums by more than $35 a month in 2025.
Specifically, the project does three things:
- Applies a uniform reduction of $15 to the base beneficiary premium for all plans.
- Limits premium increases to $35 per month.
- Limits risk to plans (and increases taxpayer losses) by narrowing Part D risk corridors.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, this “demonstration project” will cost taxpayers $7 billion next year alone, with the program set to run for two more years.
Because the Inflation Reduction Act made the market much more expensive, taxpayers will pay another $10 to $20 billion in 2025, according to the CBO. So much for savings.
The CBO also said that its original score of the IRA undercounted the cost of the Part D changes by $10 to $20 billion.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, projected premiums would decrease in 2025. But that’s not reality.
What CMS is concealing is that the average monthly premium is increasing despite the demo, and many plans will cost significantly above the average.
Not only are premiums way up but coverage choices are way down and millions of beneficiaries are losing their existing plans. Once flush with plan options, the program is experiencing a devastating downturn.
Seniors have fewer plans to choose from in 2025 than at any point in the program’s 19-year history.
For instance, CVS Aetna offered three plans in every state in 2024 but discontinued two of them for 2025, one of which was the second-most popular of all plans in 2024.
Similarly, UnitedHealthcare and Mutual of Omaha also each offered three plans nationwide in 2024. For 2025, though, United is offering two plans while Mutual of Omaha has dropped out of the program entirely.
Higher premiums and fewer plan choices aren’t the only adverse effects on seniors stemming from the higher costs imposed on Medicare drug plans by Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act.
Plans are trying to avoid the need for even bigger premium hikes by also increasing the coinsurance amounts that enrollees pay for prescriptions.
Making a bad situation worse, the Inflation Reduction Act’s drug price controls will start to take effect in 2026. Those price controls discourage investment in drug development and will reduce the number of new medicines.
The price controls also are likely to trigger secondary effects on Medicare prescription drug plans. Those will be in the form of changes to the placement of drugs on formularies and the imposition of utilization management strategies such as prior authorization and step therapy that restrict patient access.
Higher costs for taxpayers and consumers, and fewer treatments for patients. Now you know what “we finally beat Medicare” really means.
Edmund F. Haislmaier is an expert in healthcare policy and markets at The Heritage Foundation. He is frequently asked to assist federal and state lawmakers in designing and drafting health reform proposals and legislation.
Reprinted with Permission from The Daily Signal – By Edmund F. Haislmaier
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AMAC or AMAC Action.
That’s why I never believe what Democrat’s promises, because at the end we become their suckers. At 86 yrs. old I have seen all their policies that offer nothing but suffering for us .I remember the days when a dozen eggs cost .25 cents a dozen in CA and now $5.99 and even went up to $7.00 during COVID. Gas was less than .50 cents a gallon and now $6.00 all while DEMOCS were in power. I used to be a Democ when JFK was Pres. but after they killed him I studied politics intensely and left that party. They are still the party of slavery, except now they want to enslave all of us with higher taxes and cost of living so we can never get ahead.
Why would ANY senior vote for democrats? Is TDS that important that they need to help ruin America?
Ouch as the government continues to eradicate the MIDDLE CLASS of society.
Let me guess… increased costs to Americans to cover free coverage for illegals? Seems to be the pattern here!
Biden/Harris should be impeached and removed from office and sent to prison.
Sounds like if Trump wins, and we have a majority in Congress, they could repeal this stupid, outrageous Act. It just makes inflation worse, with having to pay more for prescriptions. Currently, I pay $90 for a 3-month supply, until I hit the donut hole, usually after 6 months. At that point, I then have to pay $449/3-month supply. Now, I will have to pay $159/month for one prescription, until I meet the $2000 max out of pocket. That’s $1908/year, so I will not hit the max…Guess they want all the elderly people to either starve to death, or die from not being able to afford their scripts. I also guess they will never have to rely on Medicare, as they have those Platinum healthcare plans. A pox on them all, especially Biden and Harris. They need to feel the pain the rest of us are suffering…
Excellent article. Even our so-called COLA is a JOKE and is gone before we even get it. Between biden/harris INFLATION and democrats ALWAYS RAISING Medicare Premiums we are ALWAYS in the hole. Then add that biden/harris add another 6 months onto retirement age just before election right before many of us reach the so-called current retirement age when we are already past 65 (thanks to clinton changing it back in the ‘90’s) so they can get extra tax money for their Socialist programs, Illegal Alien Terrorist Invasion and foreigners so they get everything free while WE suffer.
The democrats give $Trillions to everyone else in the world but Americans and US Senior Citizens.
I am fortunate in that my Pt. D premium only increased by $24.00. I am so concerned for people with really bad situations. Billions for Ukraine and this for those on Medicare? Messed up!
Thanks to all the people who voted for Biden~NOT.
Biden is a 50 year + documented liar. He has misled legal US citizens for his own financial gain. Harris is no better. Both are patsy’s for Obama. Who the heck voted for them?
Another Biden-Harris screw job. Biden said that he would not raise taxes on anyone making less than $450,000. When the costs of government services go up, THAT IS A TAX. Most Americans don’t make $450,000, but all will pay. Glad I left NY.
Funding the medical needs of 15+ million ILLEGALS is expensive. On your back and my back no less.
I certainly this hits the airwaves before it’s too late (may be already as early voting numbers re huge). Not sure for numerous reasons why seniors woud vote for a democrat.
Medicare has been destroyed by Biden Harris just like Social Security and everything else in this country. Disasters can’t be paid for. That money was used for the invaders ole Joe flew in from all over the world. Put them in battleground states to get their vote. We the citizens of this country can pay for that privilege. If a disaster befell you, God forbid, ole Joe is no help. He needed the FEMA money for his invader voters to house them feed them keep them healthy and educate them to become forever voters for the left. Medicare is being used to pay for that. We, they don’t worry about, one more vaccin booster and we will all die. They say they care about us but their deeds say different. They eliminated half the insurance companies, raised the premiums, copays and scrapped certain medication from the formulary, even generic. And for all this cost savings we are privileged to pay the insurance company 7 billion dollars subsidy. That’s half a billion per insurance company. Do you get the idea that our duty to die has just become law? Depopulation is in full swing. Replacement workers are coming in daily. To replace the white race. Because they believe that the white race will never obey the elites who are creating a global world. Where elites are dictating to the population where to live, where to work, what to buy, where to go and when to die. They will be surprised. The invaders won’t be as easily manipulated as they think. For the past 4 years Americans were brainwashed with the nep pandemic. Scared so many people that they had total control. Now we are finding out the pandemic was all fake. The COVID was no more than a flu strain. But it worked. Only now they find that many many Americans don’t belief the lies and manipulations they have created. They have sold America down the river to China and the elites of the world will create their utopia here. Are we going to stop them in 2024? Which we should have done by impeaching Biden after the Afghanistan disaster and/or the war in the Ukraine. VOTE TRUMP VANCE to save America and its people.
i agree with leslie who in their right mind would ever vote for a democrat. they tell nothing but lie after lie. promises they made during their campaign get flushed once they get in office. are people that stupid to believe they are for we the people? the worst one of all was Obummer. he screwed his own people over in every way he could and they couldnt see that? what a shame. if it is left up to them they will have every school teaching russian and chinese soon. its a shame what they are doing to america and the american people. the american way of life will be put on the endangered list soon! America needs to wake up and smell the democtatic horse sh-t before there is no america left. VOTE REPUBLICAN if you really care about your futur in a free anerica.
DIMMs are in neck deep with “Big Pharma.” Just think about Dr. “Falsie” who got $$$$ for hawking the COVID “vaccine” and other patents which he and his “partners” filed while working [supposedly] for the taxpayers! Patents filed by employees belong to the EMPLOYER [that’s us]! Same deal with all the new drugs being trotted out with little or no government oversight! Kackler’s wish to put illegals on Medicare will bankrupt more quickly that it is doing now. If Reagan hadn’t shored things up it would already have gone belly up!
I received a letter from my insurance company and starting 2025 they will no longer cover medical. I called my insurance agent to sign up with another company. He told me that a lot of companies can’t effort the new medical plan and are dropping medical plan. Some will pass the cost to the customers. All because of the Inflation Reduction Act. I want to thank Biden-Harris for screwing senior citizens again. When Trump is President, I pray he will repeal this act.
part b supplement went from $140 to $240. The Ho’ didn’t get my vote.
I shake my head and think to myself “How can half of the American voting public be so blind as to vote for democrats?”
Thank Kamala for breaking the tie for the Reduction Inflation Act.
if you vote for harris – be afraid, be very afraid!!!! you will regret it – she is not American and doesn’t care about you. – don’t be stupid
As has been the case throughout the Biden “Presidency”, Medicare and Social Security are treated as slush funds… as buying “Democrat” votes is the #1 priority.
I was told 3 years ago that there is no Medicare advantage plans due to living in northern rural California. I looked at my 2023 tax 1099 from ssdi Medicare and noticed that I had paid $810 in 2023. Didn’t even know that part of the previous plan was still in effect. Never billed a cent until October of 2024. I was shocked that they had deducted the money and never sent me anything until, I had to get prior authorization for oxycodone. They questioned why I was taking it and the quantity. I have titanium rods from my sacrum to T10 and , fused sacroiliac joints just last month. I was given a staph infection after 2 surgeries last year causing a third to be done in December. The staph ate the bone where the screws feel the to my sacrum. As I walk I feel the screws pulling out and the rods banging on my sacrum. Will have to have a 6 hour surgery to anchor it with a halo. Insurance costs are so high when my wife had to stay home to care for me I was paying $1,418 per month for cobra coverage from blue cross blue shield. I feel for those elderly people who have only Medicare and no backup plan.
Why is NO ONE surprised at learning this?
Don’t forget to vote Democrat if you want more of the same. I don’t see how anybody with a quarter of a brain could vote Democrat
Please vote Biden Harris OUT of our misery, and ensure Obama is never allowed to run the Executive branch from his multimillion dollar basement(s) in sweat pants again!
This smells like typical chicken excrement to me.
Well a BIG OLE IDAHO THANK YOU [sic] to brandon, kammi and tampon tim..
Do we know yet what the Medicare deductible will be for 2025?
Our ONLY hope is Jesus Christ! If you are a Christian He is going to take care of you. I have all kinds of health problems but I believe if you have faith and trust in God, He will see us all through till the end, which is almost here. I voted for Trump today!!!
Three of my seven prescription medications are no longer covered in most plans. I guess that means I pay the total cost of those.
$ 590.00 deductable also….
And the ridiculous 2.5% Cola for for 2025. But wait, they won’t announce the Part B premium increase for next year because some peoples cola wont even cover it. And lets see what the part B deductible increase will be. But Oh, they wont announce these until after the election. Wake up people Democrats are not friends of seniors.
Let’s trace it back the 19 years ago and see who was in the White House then. It was obama. And it was his implication of obamacare that was going to be so wonderful for everyone! Well now we can see that the critics (republicans) were absolutely right about its horrible effects on the medical system. I hope everyone that supported Obamacare are sufficiently happy with their increased costs! I for one am not!!!
Democrats have a nasty habit of naming their bill to reflect the exact opposite of what the bill’s actual intention. Obama’s “Affordable Care Act” made medical care LESS affordable unless you were on welfare where your insurance was subsidized. The “Inflation Reduction Act” caused Inflation to rise. Also, Democrats have no real understanding of economics. Harris wants to stick it to those “Rich Corporations” by increasing corporate taxes. She and other Dems don’t understand that corporations don’t directly pay those taxes, the consumers who purchase and use their products do. All the corporation does is raise the price of their products or services to make up for the rise in taxes. So inflation ends up rising some more. Now Harris wants to tax “Unrealized Capital Gains”. Let’s take the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, for example. The hurricane destroyed a large number of homes therefore there were fewer homes in the area. Due to the law of supply and demand, tax assessors and realtors determined that the remaining homes were now worth more. The value of the homes was increased in many instances over $100,000. Not only were the people whose homes survived hit with huge property tax increases, but under Harris’s plan, you would receive an additional tax bill from the federal government for the additional value, whether you sold the house for the added amount or not. A Capital Gain is supposed to be the increased value realized when the home is sold for more than you initially paid for it. Kamala wants to charge you even though you did not put the house up for sale and are still living in it.
The money has to come from somewhere. How many illegal invaders are there to take care of? This is only the beginning. There is also housing for the illegals and many seniors living in nice three bedroom houses just the two people often only one. I am sure there are big plans.
Hey AMAC, where is the share button? Would like to share on other media platforms.
I keep seeing, on the computer, that Trump and Harris are VERY close, giving Harris the edge on who is ahead in the polls. While Newscasters, with their own shows, say Trump has a huge lead. I know the media is 100% Democrat, so I ignore what they say . . . GO TRUMP!
Another Biden – Harris disaster for seniors.
Neither one of the candidates really understand economics & what tariffs really do and what cryptocurrency might do to our future. Someone needs to do an autopsy on what happened to price of houses & rentals in the last few years and explain why and what this is doing to USA and especially all of the classes not making +100K per year.
Get with it Republicans. Publish this data all over the place. Get the campaign ads on this going, Wake up! Use data like this and what happens when Trump’s tax cut expires. Tax rate 12% back to 20%
Just say you name is hose a . You will be fine .
The way the Democrats lie makes making deals with the Devil look like a good idea.
Yeah, the search begins, AGAIN!
I used to pay $127/mo for Rx . Next year $302/mo. Plus $590 deductible for me and same for my wife.