Obamacare Saves Seniors, Disabled $3.9 Billion on Prescription Drugs
First half of 2012 a million Medicare beneficiaries have saved average of $629 under Affordable Care Act
July 30, 2012 Many of the senior citizens who feel compelled to oppose Obamacare the Affordable Care Act may want
to take a careful look at the massive savings on prescription drugs that seniors are gaining from the bill. More than 5.2 million in Medicare
have saved over $3.9 billion on prescription drugs since the healthcare reform bill was enacted.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) also released data last week showing that in the first half of 2012,
over 1 million people with Medicare saved a total of $687 million on prescription drugs in donut hole coverage gap for an average of $629 in
savings this year.
Medicare depression patients take considerable risk in skipping drugs; many cut back on other critical medicine, too;
Obamacare could help - July 2, 2012
Millions of people with Medicare have been paying less for prescription drugs thanks to the health care law, said CMS
Acting Administrator Marilyn Tavenner. Seniors and people with disabilities have already saved close to $4 billion. In 2020, the donut hole
will be closed thanks to the Affordable Care Act.
These savings are automatically applied to prescription drugs that people with Medicare purchase, after they hit the
Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage gap or donut hole. Since the law was enacted, seniors and people with disabilities have had
several opportunities to save on prescription drugs:
In 2010, people with Medicare who hit the donut hole received a one-time $250 rebate. These rebates totaled $946 million
for 2010;
In 2011, people with Medicare began receiving a 50 percent discount on covered brand name drugs and 7 percent coverage of
generic drugs in the donut hole. Last year, these discounts totaled over $2.3 billion in savings;
This year, Medicare coverage for generic drugs in the coverage gap has risen to 14 percent. For the first six months of
the year, people with Medicare have saved $687 million.
Coverage for both brand name and generic drugs in the gap will continue to increase over time until 2020, when the
coverage gap will be closed.
For more information on how the Affordable Care Act closes the Medicare drug benefit coverage gap donut hole,
click here.
For State-by-State information on the amount of savings people with Medicare have received in the donut hole,
click
here.
Keep up with the latest news for senior citizens, baby
boomers
July 30, 2012 Many of the senior citizens who feel compelled to oppose Obamacare the Affordable Care Act may want
to take a careful look at the massive savings on prescription drugs that seniors are gaining from the bill. More than 5.2 million in Medicare
have saved over $3.9 billion on prescription drugs since the healthcare reform bill was enacted.