New data released this week shows that families and individuals who rely on Medicare continue to see direct benefits from the Affordable Care Act by saving billions of dollars on prescription drug costs.[1] So far in 2012, older and disabled Americans have saved an average of $837 on their drug purchases after reaching the donut-hole gap in coverage that forced millions of beneficiaries to scrimp or even go without important prescriptions that they had to pay out-of-pocket for until ACA brought much-needed relief.
Those who reached the donut hole in 2010 received a $250 rebate, and in 2011 received a 50% discount on brand name drugs and 7% coverage of generics, which rose to 14% in 2012 and will continue to increase until the donut-hole is completely eliminated by 2020. Since the law was signed, people on Medicare have saved a total of $3.4 billion on drug costs.
As the Center for Medicare Advocacy has previously written, all the help that these millions of Americans have received through health care reform is in danger. ACA continues to be under threat of being struck down or repealed, putting their care at risk. ACA continues to improve costs and care for our families and communities, so the stakes are high as we await the Supreme Court's decision on this landmark legislation.
[1] Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Press Release, available at: https://www.cms.gov/apps/media/press/release.asp?Counter=4352&intNumPerPage=10&checkDate=&checkKey=&srchType=1&numDays=3500&srchOpt=0&srchData=&keywordType=All&chkNewsType=1,+2,+3,+4,+5&intPage=&showAll=&pYear=&year=&desc=&cboOrder=date.