Senior citizens won’t pay more than $35 a month for insulin

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Senior citizens and other Medicare enrollees can now get a break on the cost of their insulin.
They won’t pay more than $35 a month for each insulin prescription that’s covered by their Medicare Part D plan. And they won’t be subject to a deductible for insulin.
It’s one of several drug-related provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act that are kicking in this year. The law, which Congress passed last summer, aims to make it easier for Americans, particularly the elderly, to afford their medications. The other measures taking effect in 2023 include allowing seniors to get more vaccines at no charge and penalizing drugmakers that raise prices higher than inflation.
For Medicare enrollees who take insulin via a pump, which is covered by Part B, the $35 monthly cap starts on July 1.
Although insulin was discovered more than a century ago and is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, its price has soared in recent years. This has contributed to about 1.3 million Americans with diabetes – or 1 in 6 insulin users – rationing their insulin in the past year, according to research published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine in October. Skipping the medication can lead to death.
The new provision is the first cost-sharing limit for insulin ever enacted at a federal level, said Elise Tollefson, vice president for federal affairs at the American Diabetes Association.