In August 2022, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law. The IRA strives to enhance Medicare by expanding benefits, lowering drug costs, and improving the sustainability of the program. Effective January 1, 2025, the IRA requires several notable changes to Medicare prescription drug plans (Part D plans), including imposing a $2,000 annual cap on out-of-pocket (“OOP”) prescription drug spending and phasing out the “donut-hole” coverage gap.
The IRA also requires that all Part D plans offer enrollees the option to pay out-of-pocket prescription drug costs in the form of capped monthly payments to allow enrollees to spread out expenses over the course of the year. This initiative is known as the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, but it has also been referred to as “smoothing.” To help ensure Medicare beneficiaries are aware of this new program, Aimed Alliance has developed a fact sheet explaining how the “smoothing” program will operate in 2025. View the resource here.
Last Updated on October 29, 2024 by Aimed Alliance
