Arlington, VA – The following is a statement from Howard Bedlin, NCOA vice president for Public Policy and Advocacy, on the introduction of the Lower Out-of-Pocket Costs for Seniors Act:
“The National Council on Aging (NCOA) deeply appreciates the leadership of Ranking Members Frank Pallone (D-NJ) of the Energy and Commerce Committee and Richard Neal (D-MA) of the Ways and Means Committee, in proposing legislation to help people with Medicare afford their expensive prescription drugs. The Lower Out-of-Pocket Costs for Seniors Act prevents the out-of-pocket threshold for catastrophic coverage from increasing by $1,250 to $6,350 in 2020. If this amount is permitted to increase, beneficiaries would have to pay more before reducing their out-of-pocket coinsurance to just 5% of prescription drug costs after the threshold is reached. Half of Medicare beneficiaries have incomes below about $26,200, and millions have multiple chronic conditions that require costly prescription medications. These seniors and people with disabilities could save thousands of dollars in reduced out-of-pocket costs under the bill. We urge members to cosponsor the bill and encourage a bipartisan effort to pass this crucial legislation.”
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