If you're on Medicare, you could see some big changes in how much your prescription medications will cost you.
New laws are now in effect to curb the costs of drugs, like insulin, but there's also a push to make medications more affordable for everyone, not just those on medicare.
On Wednesday, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra was at the Baylor Scott & White Health and Wellness Center - Juanita J. Craft Recreation Center in Dallas to highlight how the Inflation Reduction Act, the nation’s new lower-cost prescription drug law, is reducing health care costs.
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, signed into law by President Biden on August 16, 2022, includes several provisions to lower prescription drug costs for people with Medicare and reduce drug spending by the federal government.
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He will then participate in a roundtable with patients, medical staff, and community leaders where he will highlight how - as a result of President Biden’s new lower-cost prescription drug law - millions of Americans will see lower health care costs.
The prescription drug provisions included in the Inflation Reduction Act will require the federal government to negotiate prices for some drugs covered under Medicare Part B and Part D with the highest total spending, beginning in 2026.
It will also cap out-of-pocket spending for Medicare Part D enrollees and make other Part D benefit design changes, beginning in 2024 and limit monthly cost sharing for insulin to $35 for people with Medicare, beginning in 2023.
"We now will have the opportunity for the first time in our country's history to negotiate the price for the drugs that we count on," Becerra told panelists during a round table discussion.
What about people not eligible for Medicare?
That's where Dr. Alex Oshmyansky says his company fits in. He is the CEO and co-founder of the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company.
Launching a little over a year ago, the company claims to cut out the middle man and make prescription medications affordable.
"We expected maybe we'd get a couple hundred thousand customers. At the end of the first year, we're at about 2 million now and just trying to keep up with the pace," said Oshmyansky.
To keep up, he says they'll soon start manufacturing medications at a facility in Deep Ellum later this year and are working with employers and health insurance companies to extend their prices to those who want to use their health insurance plans.
"We live in this world of drug prices all day that we lose perspective about just how badly people are getting written off, even a very common very simple medications," he said.
Oshmyansky was one of the panelists at Wednesday's event.
