Part D is on Life Support

somarco

GA Medicare Expert
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Atlanta
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced a new “Premium Stabilization Demonstration” for Medicare Part D plans intended to offset the higher premium costs expected to arise from the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) Part D redesign, which shifted more financial liability from the government to Part D plans.

CMS’ three-year stabilization plan, which comes just a few months before the presidential election, would attempt to stave off a significant Part D premium increase triggered by the IRA by funneling $7.2 billion to insurers.

Although the demonstration is marketed as “voluntary,” any insurer refusing participation would not be able to offer competitive prices; CMS will allocate this additional 382.3-percent increase in subsidies (compared to last year) without congressional approval to cover for the fallout of the IRA.

These changes should raise significant concern. CMS is paying down and capping insurance premiums for the next year, while also shifting the risk of PDP coverage from private insurance companies onto the taxpayers, to bail out insurers and keep premiums low. Effectively, the Biden administration is forcibly keeping Part D premiums artificially “stable” on the taxpayer’s dime.



Nothing to see here. Move along folks . . . We have a democracy to save . . .
 
the $2k Rx cap was enacted quite awhile ago. This isn't news.

& what does this mean?



Part D was a pet project of what used to be the Republican party. Do people not know this?

Quite awhile ago? It was part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. If two years is "quite awhile ago" then ok. But the $2k limit isn't set to go into effect until 2025. As with virtually every spending bill by Congress, they NEVER pay for it nor consider the consequences. We all remember "you have to pass the bill to know what's in the bill".

The "news" part of this is now how they are manipulating so as to avoid the consequences. The last thing they want is to suffer the wrath of a large voting population who would now be asked to spend even more money on premiums. Money they don't have due to virtually everything else being more expensive due to INFLATION. The "news" part of it is that they are taking money from somewhere else in order to delay the consequences of the shitty bill they passed.

As for whose pet project it was, it didn't have a $2k max on it when passed in 2003. We can all debate whether or not the Medicare Modernization Act was a good bill, but assuming for a second many believe it was bad, the Inflation Reduction Act made it MUCH worse.
 
I am going to be using the mental health benefit required under ACA by Dec 8

Can you really afford to wait that long?
taking money from somewhere else in order to delay the consequences of the shitty bill they passed.

I will mark you as undecided on this matter . . . feel free to stop by my office and pick up your Reading Comprehension award.

In case you are wondering, this years prize is a $50 gift certificate to Howard Johnson's Restaurants. Kick back with a bowl of any of their 28 flavors of ice cream. YUM!

Enjoy!
 
The Dems are performing major scumbag tricks in order to help Ms Kamala win. This idea of subsidizing the insurance companies (temporarily ) is to leave a poison pill for the next administration. If they lose, then the new Trump admin will be saddled with this garbage or face the ire of either the insurance companies or the people. The entities that benefit are all named Pfeizer, J&J, Bristol Myers, AstraZeneca etc... The $2k cap will help a few folks that had very expensive meds such as cancer drugs, but they provide a great incentive for the average senior not to be a good shopper when it comes to medications.(Take all brands ? no problem, I am capped at $2K) This will be a great disaster for the Nation going forward.
 
The fact that no one is talking about what a great windfall the IRA is for the Pharma companies, tells you what incredible power these people have on our politicians. Both sets of piggies are feeding at the Pharma trough. They just wear different colored shirts (Red and Blue)
 
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