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Medicare drug caps help more than 19,000 New Hampshire residents • New Hampshire Bulletin

Up to 19,300 Medicare recipients in New Hampshire could face rising drug costs if Republicans succeed in repealing newly introduced federal caps on drug prices and co-payments, according to a new report by AARP.

The Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 allowed the federal government to negotiate drug prices for more than 60 million people who have drug coverage through their Medicare plan. The law capped insulin costs at $35 a month and made vaccines free by eliminating cost-sharing.

Next year, out-of-pocket costs for medications will be capped at $2,000 per year.

In a press conference on Wednesday, AARP Vice Chair Nancy Leamond cited a study that found Medicare beneficiaries who reach the cap in 2025 could save 56 percent on their drug costs.

“Medicines are only effective if you have the money to pay for them,” said LEAMOND.

She added: “This is about real people, parents, grandparents, friends and neighbors, who are finally getting relief from the high cost of medication and who have to worry about the prices of their medications spiraling out of control.”

AARP estimates in a new report that nearly 4.1 million Medicare beneficiaries will benefit from new caps on drug costs by 2029. That includes nearly 19,300 people in New Hampshire. (Annmarie Timmins | New Hampshire Bulletin)

According to the AARP report, also released Wednesday, about 15,000 Medicare beneficiaries in New Hampshire will benefit from the annual out-of-pocket cap in 2025, the first year the benefit goes into effect.

By 2029, this number is expected to rise to 19,345, according to the report.

Christina FitzPatrick, state director of AARP New Hampshire, said in a statement Wednesday: “Knowing that they won't have to pay a penny more than $2,000 next year for prescription drugs they get at the pharmacy – at most – gives Granite State seniors with Medicare drug plans some peace of mind as they grapple with rising costs for other everyday items like housing, groceries and utilities.”

Both presidential candidates have called for controls on drug prices covered by Medicare.

Vice President Kamala Harris cast the deciding vote in the Senate and passed the bill in 2022. Former President Donald Trump has said he is in favor of forcing pharmaceutical companies to offer their drugs at the same prices they charge in other countries.

Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation project Roadmap for the next Republican president, calls for the repeal of drug price negotiation legislation.

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