KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — In August 2022, President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act. It was meant to keep prices from growing too high for items like gasoline, food and medicine.
The act also implemented a cap on how much Medicare recipients would pay for prescription drugs at $2,000 per year, starting in 2025. It also limited the amount that Medicare recipients would need to pay out-of-pocket for insulin, capping the price at $35 per month.
The White House released data about how many people would be affected by the act if it had been in effect in 2020. They said that in Tennessee, 39,562 would have been affected and each person would have saved around $494 that year on insulin. In total, they would have saved around $19.5 million, according to the data.
In 2019, the release said that the average out-of-pocket cost for insulin was $58 per fill, usually for a 30-day supply. They also said patients with private insurance or medicare paid around $63 per fill.
The White House said around 1.5 million people with Medicare would have benefitted from the Inflation reduction Act if it had been in effect in 2020, with total savings reaching around $734 million in Part D plans and $27 million in Part B plans.
The act was also aimed at reducing the price of recommended vaccines. In Tennessee, 58,792 Part D enrollees would have saved money if the act had been in effect in 2021. Each person would have saved around $75 per year on vaccines for shingles, Tdap, Td, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B and other kinds.