New Research Confirms Importance of Drug Affordability and Low Out-of-Pocket Costs

New Research Confirms Importance of Drug Affordability and Low Out-of-Pocket Costs

As we have highlighted in past articles, many people with Medicare—and many callers to our national consumer helpline—struggle to afford their care, especially medications. New research from Wakely emphasizes the importance of increasing affordability and access to medications, showing that when Medicare Advantage (MA) plans for people with low incomes eliminate copays for prescription medications, more of their enrollees take their drugs as pre…

New Medicare Program Could Dramatically Improve Affordability for Cancer Drugs – if Patients Enroll

Even for patients covered by Medicare, annual out-of-pocket costs for lifesaving cancer treatments taken in pill form have often exceeded $10,000—until recently. Thanks to changes in Medicare Part D introduced by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that took effect in 2025, annual out-of-pocket drug costs for all beneficiaries are now capped at $2,000.