66 Organizations Ask Medicare to Ensure Patient Input into Part D Affordability Provisions
Published March 27, 2023
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 included two key provisions to help Medicare beneficiaries to afford the out-of-pocket costs related to prescription drugs. These changes — a $2,000 annual per beneficiary maximum out-of-pocket cost and zero-interest payment installment flexibility (also known as cost smoothing) — will be fully implemented in 2025.
To ensure that beneficiaries are able to receive the intended benefit from these reforms, it is vital to have broad input to the Medicare program on how these changes will impact patients in their communities. To achieve this, the Alliance and 65 additional patient groups asked the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to conduct a listening session and to provide future opportunities for input as the agency implements cap and smoothing in Medicare Part D.