HOLDING DOWN RETIREE DRUG COSTS

Legislation enacted in 2022 could eventually reduce overall prescription drug prices, too.

- SANDRA BLOCK

IF YOU'RE ENROLLED IN MEDICARE and spend a lot of money on prescription drugs, legislation enacted last summer could lower some of your expenses. The prescription-drug provisions in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act will be phased in over seven years, but some take effect as early as this year. To get the most out of these cost-saving provisions, you need to be vigilant, and you may need to make some changes to your existing prescription-drug regimen.

Caps on insulin payments. If your insulin is covered by your Part D prescription-drug plan, your co-payments are capped at $35 a month, effective January 1. For beneficiaries who use an insulin pump, which is covered by Part B, the $35 co-payment cap kicks in July 1.

The caps take effect automatically, but if your insulin is covered by your Part D plan, you may want to review it. There are more than 70 different types of insulin on the market, and Part D plans have the option of deciding which ones to cover. When the Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law last summer, 2023 premiums and co-pays for participating private insurers had already been incorporated into the "Plan Finder" tool at Medicare.gov, so they didn't include the $35 cap, says Kelli Jo Greiner, director of the Minnesota State Health Insurance Assistance Program, which provides free counseling for Medicare beneficiaries.