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16 www.DesertMessenger.com August 17, 2022 Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ DesertMessengerNews Follow on Twitter @DesertMessenger @QuartzsiteRain "In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations." - Iroquois Maxim (circa 1700-1800) "In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations." - Iroquois Maxim (circa 1700-1800) by Dena Bunis, AARP August 15, 2022 For the fi rst time in Medicare's history, the amount of money that benefi ciaries in drug plans will have to pay for their prescriptions each year will be capped, thanks to pro- visions of the Infl ation Reduction Act of 2022. The new law makes other changes to the program's Part D drug benefi ts, including put- ting a limit on out-of-pocket pay- ments for insulin and making vital vaccines free. "There was previously no limit on how much a person on Part D could have to pay in a given year," says Nancy LeaMond, AARP's executive vice president and chief advocacy and engagement offi cer. "And 1.3 million enrollees spent more than $2,000 in 2020." As with many of the other provi- sions in the new law, the changes to Part D out-of-pocket spending will roll out over the next several years. Here's a look at how the new cost- sharing rules will work and when the savings will start. Out-of-pocket costs capped The big news for benefi ciaries is that beginning in 2025, the maxi- mum amount they will have to pay out of pocket for prescription drugs each year will be $2,000. Here are a few important details. This out-of-pocket limit applies if you get your prescription drugs through a stand-alone Part D plan that people enrolled in original Medicare sign up for, or if you ac- cess your Medicare through a pri- vate Medicare Advantage plan. Most of those MA plans also cover prescription drugs. The amount of the cap could change over time. If what Medicare Part D spends on prescription drugs per enrollee increases, that $2,000-a- year cap could also rise. Big changes coming to Medicare Pard D plans If your Part D or MA plan has a pre- scription drug deductible, that will count toward the cap. So if your de- ductible is $100, once you've met that, your out-of-pocket costs will be capped once you've spent an- other $1,900 that year. In 2022 the maximum deductible Medicare al- lows a Part D plan to charge is $480 a year. Many plans have lower de- ductibles or even no deductible. In 2024, the year before the out-of- pocket cap takes effect, Medicare benefi ciaries will no longer have any out-of-pocket costs once they enter what Medicare calls catastrophic coverage. The way catastrophic cov- erage works in 2022 is that once an enrollee's out-of-pocket costs reach $7,050, they have to pay 5 percent of their prescription drug costs, with no limit. But beginning in 2024, that 5 percent coinsurance requirement will be gone and en- rollees won't have to pay anything for their prescription drugs for the rest of the year. Another change to the Medicare drug benefi t that begins in 2025 is the requirement that Part D plans offer enrollees the option of what is called smoothed cost-sharing. This means you can opt to have your out-of-pocket costs spread out over the year. This is designed to protect people from being hit with such a big drug bill at one time that it may discourage them from fi lling their prescriptions. Premium increases limited According to the new law, beginning in 2024 and continuing through 2029, Part D premiums cannot in- crease by more than 6 percent a year. In 2022 the national average Part D premium is $33.37 a month. The amount of these premiums var- ies widely, depending on where you live and what plan you select. Insulin charges curbed Beginning in 2023, copays for a 30- day supply of any insulin that a Medi- care drug plan covers will be capped at $35. Note that Part D plans will be required to adhere to the $35 co- pay limit even if an enrollee has not met their annual deductible. The price could be lower if insulin becomes subject to negotiation with drugmakers. Given that, although the monthly maximum copay will be $35 from 2023 to 2025, begin- ning in 2026 (the fi rst year negotiat- ed prices would take effect), insulin copays will be $35 or 25 percent of the drug's negotiated price (which- ever is less). Many vaccines free Starting on Jan. 1, 2023, Medicare enrollees won't have any out-of- pocket costs for vaccines that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recom- mends for adults. Medicare Part B, which applies to doctor visits, diagnostic tests and other outpatient services, already fully covers some vaccines, includ- ing fl u shots, pneumonia vaccines, hepatitis B inoculations and coro- navirus vaccines (initial shots as well as boosters). But other vaccines, most notably the expensive vaccine for shingles, are covered under the Part D prescrip- tion drug plans, and many of those plans currently require enrollees to share the cost of those shots. The new law eliminates that cost-sharing. Dena Bunis covers Medicare, health care, health policy and Congress. She also writes the "Medicare Made Easy" column for the AARP Bulle- tin. An award-winning journalist, Bunis spent decades working for metropolitan daily newspapers, in- cluding as Washington bureau chief for the Orange County Register and as a health policy and workplace writer for Newsday. Quartzsite Shop Small Bingo July Winner July's Quartzsite Shop Small Bingo winner is Cass Kuck. Using the Quartzsite Shop Small Face- book group made it easy for her to know the days and hours stores were open. The September cards will be avail- able at participating merchants and on Facebook. Prizes were donated by Road- runner Rocks, The Salvation Army, Quartzsite Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, Mys- tic Dreams and Spiritstone Gems. We have extra special prizes for September's winner. The Chamber is located at 1240 W. Main Street, across from Mc- Donald's. We're open Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 10am-2pm. 928-927- 5200.

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