Democrats were confronted earlier this year with a terrifying reality: a cap on out-of-pocket costs for patients to limit Medicare drug spending passed as part of Biden's signature Inflation Reduction Act was set to spike premiums for millions of senior citizens just weeks before the 2024 presidential election.
To avoid the political catastrophe of presiding over major premium increases in the middle of a closely contested election, the Biden-Harris administration used its authority to reroute appropriated funding to subsidize the premiums for seniors until after the election.
Medicare Part D premiums were slated to increase in October at the beginning of open enrollment following pressure on insurance companies generated by the Inflation Reduction Act's caps on drug prices-one of the Biden-Harris Administration's signature legislative initiatives.
"Biden admin to spend billions to blunt spike in Medicare drug premiums," one Politico headline read. "The move to protect some older Americans from higher costs would come just ahead of the election."
The Harris has faced little scrutiny for the move and continues to campaign delivering the tie-breaking vote that passed the Inflation Reduction Act and the price caps it contained.
With the premium crisis averted, the subsidy plan freed Kamala Harris' campaign to tout her administration's efforts to lower prescription drug costs and preserve Medicare.
All the while, Harris has promised to "Protect Social Security and Medicare against relentless attacks from Donald Trump and his extreme allies" and "Will strengthen these programs for the long haul."
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