Democrats may have a new candidate. But if Kamala Harris thinks she can break away from Biden’s unpopular record, she’s in for a rude awakening. In fact, even some of the comparatively popular parts of Biden and Harris’ agenda will soon be much less popular — and cause enormous problems for her party. Consider the party’s landmark legislative achievement of the past four years, the Inflation Reduction Act, which Democrats rammed through Congress in 2022 without a single Republican vote. The law, which has nothing to do with fighting inflation, shifted hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicare to new, wasteful green energy subsidies.
These Medicare “savings” — or cuts, for those who honestly analyze government budgets — were the result of price controls on Medicare prescription drug purchases.Democrats promised then, and continue to promise now, that the law will lower drug costs for seniors. Yet as a new study from global research firm Milliman makes clear, about 3.5 million seniors will actually see an increase in their drug costs because of the law. Happy campaigning, Madam Vice President.The reason for the spending increases lies in the sloppy design of the Inflation Reduction Act. The law limited what seniors have to spend out of pocket on drugs in a given year — admittedly one of the few good reforms to the law, but one that has been proposed by lawmakers of both parties for years.Many of the millions of seniors affected are on fixed incomes and are already suffering from higher prices due to record inflation caused by the Biden-Harris administration.
Because of policies pushed by the Biden-Harris administration, seniors have already seen an average 21% increase in their Medicare prescription drug premiums this year. And next year, premiums could jump nearly 50%. Insurers are also making access to drugs more difficult through eligibility hurdles and pharmacy restrictions. After crunching the numbers, some major health insurers are pledging to pull out of the Part D market altogether next year, leaving hundreds of thousands of seniors in the lurch. What a record.Saul Anuzis is president of 60 Plus, the American Association of Seniors.
