Inflation Reduction Act To Benefit Delco Residents, Scanlon Says

DELAWARE COUNTY, PA — With the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act, Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon is touting benefits Delaware County and Philadelphia residents will see thanks to it.

Scanlon said families in Pennsylvania’s 5th Congressional District will soon see more affordable prescription drugs for Medicare recipients and lower health insurance premiums made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act.

"For too long, families in PA-05 have been forced to choose between paying for life-saving medication or insurance coverage and putting food on the table," Scanlon said. "The Inflation Reduction Act takes major steps to rein in out-of-control health care costs – finally empowering Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices and, for the first time ever, capping Medicare Part D out-of-pocket drug spending at $2,000. Best of all, it is fully paid for by ensuring that big corporations pay their fair share of taxes while ensuring that middle-class Pennsylvanians and small businesses don't pay a cent more."

The Inflation Reduction Act will make health care more affordable for PA-05 families by:

• Helping 21,000 district residents who currently get subsidized marketplace health insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act save an average of $1740 in premiums by extending critical tax credits that would have otherwise expired this year.
• Saving families with two adults, two children, and a household income of $75,000 up to $2,832 on their premiums next year.
• Saving single-parent households with one adult, one child, and a household income of $30,000 up to $1,260 on their premiums next year.
• Saving households of two adults over the age of 60 and a joint income of $70,000 up to $13,776 on their premiums next year.

According to Scanlon's office, the Inflation Reduction Act will lower prescription drug costs for PA-05 families by:

• Capping Medicare beneficiaries’ annual out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs covered by Medicare Part D at $2,000 per year starting in 2025.
  • An estimated 3,000 Medicare Part D beneficiaries in the district had out-of-pocket costs above $2,000 in 2020.
• Capping monthly copayments for insulin products at $35 per month for an estimated 5,300 Medicare beneficiaries receiving insulin in the district.
• Allowing the government to negotiate lower drug prices with Big Pharma. If the Inflation Reduction Act’s drug pricing provisions had been fully in effect in 2020:
  • The total cost of prescriptions filled by Medicare beneficiaries in the district could have been $34 million lower.
  • Medicare beneficiaries in the district could have saved a total of $10 million in reduced premiums and out-of-pocket costs.

The urgent need for these reforms is demonstrated by Committee on Oversight and Reform’s landmark drug pricing investigation, which reveals how the pharmaceutical industry’s uninhibited pricing practices lead to price gouging and runaway costs for Americans.