The following content is sponsored by Americans for Limited Government.
One of the classic strategies in the Obama/Biden playbook is policy that sounds good in the short-term, but whose long-term consequences won’t be felt until after an election. That way if Democrats win, they’re insulated from voters holding them accountable; but if they lose, they can blame Republicans when things go south.
This was undoubtedly one of the plays the Biden administration had in mind for the gallingly misnamed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). But this disastrous legislation hasn’t just sabotaged Americans’ wallets, it’s sabotaged their health as well.
Snuck into the IRA was a poorly drafted provision that attempted to lower out-of-pocket expenses on prescription drugs. The IRA lowers the out-of-pocket maximum for seniors from about $3,300 to $2,000 by shifting the responsibility for the $1,300 difference to insurance companies. To no one’s surprise, the insurance companies pass that cost to consumers in the form of higher premiums and restricted access to prescription drugs.
This year, premiums for Medicare Part D are up more than 20 percent for the more than 50 million Americans enrolled. In 2025, they could increase again by more than 50 percent! We hope people are paying close enough attention during open enrollment in October to compare this price spike as President Biden campaigns on how he “fought Big Pharma to lower drug costs!”
The brilliant design of the Medicare Part D program 20 years ago was harnessing competition. Deploying the free-market principle that competition leads to lower prices, Part D allowed private insurance plans to compete for Medicare dollars to keep costs low and save seniors money.
With more private plans competing, older Americans got better choices and more control over their health care. And more than 1,400 plans joined Part D right away. So because of this, the program both came under budget and saved seniors money.
But the Biden administration wants to undo all that.
Another way Part D insurers are cutting costs to afford the IRA is by adding more “prior authorization” requirements, pushing patients toward the cheapest therapies rather than the most effective ones.
But some companies will just opt out entirely. In 2024, the number of prescription drug plans available has been slashed to less than half of what it was when it started, standing now at the smallest selection in its 20-year history.
Almost 100 plans disappeared in 2023 alone. Who knows how many more will disappear next year?
And with less competition, prices will go up and up, while Bidenflation eats away beneficiaries’ ability to pay for it. This will hit those on fixed and low incomes the most. One study found that the number of Part D plans available to low-income beneficiaries has dropped by one-third in the past year alone.
One large health plan, Mutual of Omaha, recently hinted that it will pull out of the Part D market in 2025. Almost 200,000 seniors – who one hopes are all high-information voters living in Rust Belt swing states – will be forced to find a new plan from increasingly fewer options. As time goes on, unless changes can be made, this will get worse and worse, leaving seniors with fewer options as they’re told by uncaring Democrats how much they’ve helped them.
The Biden administration has screwed – along with the economy, immigration, foreign policy, the future of the human race, etc. – the American healthcare system. And it seems like most people have gotten wise to the schemes in their dirty playbook, as everyone knows they’re lying about this issue. When they likely lose in November, President Trump and his allies will have their hands full undoing the damage. Luckily, they’re up to the task.