Federal drug price reforms are working, finds study - Harvard Gazette

"For too long, Medicare patients have been forced to ration important medications because of cost. Our findings are an early signal that the Inflation Reduction Act is changing that - and the patients benefiting most are exactly those who need it most. The act's 2024 provisions targeted two groups most burdened by drug costs, eliminating the 5 percent co-insurance requirement for catastrophic coverage and expanding access to full subsidies for lower-income enrollees."

"More than one in four American adults struggle to afford their prescription medications. Those who can't are left with grim choices - skipping doses, cutting pills in half, or abandoning prescriptions entirely. New research offers early evidence that federal drug pricing reforms intended to help are beginning to do just that."

Over one in four American adults struggle to afford prescription medications, often resorting to skipping doses or abandoning prescriptions. Research from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center published in JAMA Internal Medicine demonstrates that the Inflation Reduction Act's 2024 drug pricing reforms are reducing medication non-adherence due to cost. The law eliminated co-insurance requirements for high-spending Medicare beneficiaries, capping annual out-of-pocket costs at approximately $3,300, and expanded full subsidies for lower-income enrollees. The study used a quasi-experimental design to measure real-world impact, finding the greatest benefits among patients managing multiple chronic conditions who previously faced the most significant financial barriers to medication access.

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