Doctors call Pennsylvania’s “Inflation Reduction Act” a success story

A single measure by the Biden-Harris administration saved hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvania residents money every month.

Dr. Max Cooper has experienced the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act firsthand.

Just over two years ago, a patient collapsed outside the emergency room of a southeastern Pennsylvania emergency room due to a cardiac arrhythmia. After speaking with the patient, Cooper discovered that he was diabetic and was not taking his necessary medications because he could not afford them.

“No one should be forced to choose between medications they can take or important bills like rent they have to pay,” Cooper said during a meet to discuss the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act on its second anniversary. “The Inflation Reduction Act is helping more and more Pennsylvanians avoid having to make this impossible decision.”

The Inflation Reduction Act was the largest investment in the fight against climate change. lower costs for health care and prescription drugsand increased taxes on companies.

“I can say without a doubt that people have better outcomes when they have access to health care and medications prescribed by their doctors,” Cooper said. “They have a higher quality of life and they do well. The two most important pieces of legislation in recent years that have contributed to this are the Affordable Care Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. These pieces of legislation save lives.”

The Inflation Reduction Act also provided subsidies that helped make insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act (also known as “Obamacare”) more affordable for working- and middle-class families.

These subsidies were introduced as part of President Joe Biden's 2021 American Rescue Plan and were scheduled to expire at the end of 2022 – but the Inflation Reduction Act extended them until the end of 2025.

The law also reformed Medicare to reduce drug costs for many of the approximately 2.3 million seniors in Pennsylvania who have Medicare Part D, which covers prescription drugs.

For example, since last year, all vaccinations covered by Medicare Part D have been free and a cap of $35 per month has been imposed on insulin payments to Medicare beneficiaries.

According to Cooper, more than 300,000 Pennsylvania residents are saving an average of $520 per month in health insurance premiums. More than 80,000 Pennsylvania residents who are Medicare-enrolled and use insulin are now saving an average of $543 per month.

In addition, the law authorized Medicare for the first time to negotiate prices for expensive drugs with pharmaceutical companies.

Dr. Jim Becker, a general practitioner in Philadelphia, said his patients would also benefit from the law's advantages.

“I took care of a patient who was in the hospital and almost died from a diabetic coma,” Becker said. “As much as she worked to eat better, and she worked really hard, the insulin she's taking now is the best way to help her control her blood sugar. After gradually increasing her insulin doses for a few months, we finally got her diabetes under control. Affordable insulin saved her life. Affordable insulin saves lives. And the Inflation Reduction Act made that possible.”

Becker said he and countless other doctors in the state hope the administration will continue to build on the law's positive benefits.

“The Inflation Reduction Act is a step forward in making health care more affordable and accessible for Pennsylvanians – and we should build on that progress, not undo it.”