New AARP report: Historic cap on Medicare Rx out-of-pocket spending will save nearly 50,000 Wisconsin residents

MADISON – Recently, AARP released a report showing that more than 49,900 Wisconsin residents who have Medicare prescription drug coverage will see savings thanks to a new out-of-pocket cap that takes effect Jan. 1, 2025.

These savings will be made possible by a provision in the 2022 Drug Act, pushed by AARP, that would cap the annual prescription drug deductible for the 56 million people covered by the U.S. Medicare drug plan, starting at $2,000 next year.

The AARP report analyzes the number of enrollees who will benefit from the cap between 2025 and 2029, broken down by state, age, gender and race. The results show that Medicare drug plan enrollees across the country who meet the new out-of-pocket cap will save an average of about $1,500, or 56%, on their prescription drugs in 2025.

“AARP fought hard for the Drug Act of 2022 because we knew it would provide critical relief to Medicare beneficiaries here in Wisconsin and across the country by lowering drug prices and out-of-pocket costs,” said Martha Cranley, state director of AARP Wisconsin, which serves more than 800,000 members ages 50 and older in the state.

“Knowing that they won't have to pay a penny more than $2,000 – maximum – for prescription drugs at the pharmacy next year provides comfort to Wisconsin seniors with Medicare drug plans as they grapple with rising costs for other everyday necessities like housing, groceries and utilities,” Cranley said.

Other findings from the report include:

It is estimated that between 3 and 4 million Part D plan enrollees nationwide will benefit from the new out-of-pocket cap annually between 2025 and 2029, including nearly 50,000 in Wisconsin in 2025 and more than $65,000 by 2029.

· More than three-quarters of Medicare drug plan enrollees who will benefit in 2025 will be between the ages of 65 and 84.

“Limiting annual prescription drug copayments for seniors with Medicare coverage builds on other new and important cost-saving measures, such as capping insulin copayments at $35 a month and making many vaccines, such as those for shingles and pneumonia, free,” Cranley said.

For more information about AARP's work to lower prescription drug prices, see How High Rx Prices Hurt.