That is only one of the issues involved with high drug prices, and the drug companies aren't the only issue..Prices charged for the category of drugs known as "specialty medications" are exploding so quickly that they're now a key source of concern for both consumers and Congress. Specialty drugs include those used to treat cancer, multiple sclerosis and rare health conditions. Spending on these drugs under Medicare almost quadrupled in recent years, rising from .7 billion in 2010 to .8 billion in 201On the other hand, spending on the same drugs under Medicaid, the program that provides healthcare for low-income Americans, grew much more slowly over the same period, rising from .8 billion to .9 billion..Our legislative team will keep a close eye on the legislation as it is implemented in the coming months, and we will continue to advocate for policies that would reduce health care costs for Medicare beneficiaries. For updates on our progress, visit the Legislative News section of our website, or follow our new page on Facebook..Here's a hypothetical example: Let's say that you shop at the same grocery store every week. The price of navel oranges varies by the time of year, but in December of 2018 you were able to buy navel oranges for about .39 a pound. By June of 2019, however, the price goes up to .4That's a difference of $.10 a pound and a 7% jump in cost. That's price inflation..Rep. Charles Gonzalez introduced H.R. 456 on January 26, 201It has since been referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means..Even before the coronavirus pandemic Congress was facing tough decisions on how to strengthen the Medicare's Part A Hospital Insurance trust fund. But Congress is now running out of time and will need to move soon on a plan to prolong program solvency..That's changing this year due to new Medicare rules that require suppliers to engage in competitive bidding to supply seniors with this equipment. A two-year pilot of competitive bidding in nine cities succeeded in lowering Medicare's durable medical equipment costs by a third. Lower costs for Medicare should also mean lower co-pays for seniors..In January the President had said he would "take a look" at cutting entitlement spending, which is Washington talk for cutting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. However, the next day after the interview he backed off his statement and tweeted that he would save Social Security..In the new report from the CBO, estimates show that if the AHCA is adopted, 14 million individuals would likely lose their health insurance coverage next year. By 2026, that number would rise to 26 million. For low-income seniors between the ages of 50 and 64, the uninsured rate would more than double under the AHCA, from 12 percent to 30 percent. That's because premiums would jump by so much for older Americans by over 700 percent in many cases they would likely be priced out of the individual health insurance market.
