Republicans move to repeal law that saves older Americans billions in health care costs | The Wisconsin Independent
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U.S. Representative Tom Tiffany (R-WI) speaking at a press conference about border security organized by the House Republican Congressional Border Security Caucus at the U.S. Capitol. (Photo by Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)

Wisconsin Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany and 15 other House Republicans have filed a bill to completely repeal the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, President Joe Biden’s health care and clean energy infrastructure law. Repeal of the law would significantly increase costs for millions of American consumers.

The 2022 law, passed by Democratic majorities in Congress without a single Republican vote in favor, authorized $369 billion in energy and climate change infrastructure investments; capped out-of-pocket prescription drug and insulin costs for millions of older Americans; authorized the Medicare program to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies for lower prices on commonly used drugs; and provided funding to the Internal Revenue Service to modernize its operations and crack down on wealthy tax evaders.

On Jan. 1, an Inflation Reduction Act provision went into effect that limits out-of-pocket prescription drug copayments by Medicare Part D subscribers to just $2,000 annually. For nearly 19 million Americans, this will mean an average savings of $400 in 2025; those with the highest prescription drug costs will save an average of $2,500, according to a Department of Health and Human Services model

The first 10 medication price reductions negotiated under the law will go into effect in 2026, saving Medicare Part D recipients an estimated $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs annually and saving the Medicare program about $6 billion per year, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. 

A September 2024 KFF Health poll found 85% of registered voters supported Medicare drug price negotiation, including 77% of Republicans. More than two-thirds of those surveyed backed expanding the law’s $2,000 out-of-pocket prescription drug cap and its $35-a-month cap on insulin costs for Medicare beneficiaries to those with other insurance policies.

Republicans in Congress and their Big Pharma donors, however, want the law repealed. With Democrats holding a majority in the Senate and Biden in the White House in 2023 and 2024, efforts by Tiffany and other Republicans in the last Congress to scrap the law went nowhere. 

But now, with Republicans holding a Senate majority and former President Donald Trump set to return to the White House, full or partial repeal is significantly more likely. A Jan. 6 analysis by experts at the nonpartisan Brookings Institution noted, “While the bill may reduce government expenditures, the IRA’s impact on the economy may make the cost of the bill more ‘expensive,’” though it is unclear how the Congressional Budget Office will take that into account.

Tiffany’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In February 2023, Tiffany said in a press release announcing a repeal bill called the Inflation Reduction Act of 2023: “By repealing President Biden’s so-called Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, taxpayers will no longer have to dish out $80 billion to the IRS, $3 billion for a fleet of electric postal trucks, and $369 billion in Green New Deal giveaways. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2023 will actually lower the cost of living, contrary to the Democrats’ Inflation Acceleration Act of 2022.”

The 2022 law’s investments in IRS modernization were expected to bring in $203 billion in additional unpaid revenue by 2031, more than making up for the $78 billion cost.

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