skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 20, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

'Woefully insufficient': Federal judge accuses Justice Department of evading 'obligations' to comply with deportation flights request; WA caregivers rally against Medicaid cuts; NM's state methane regulations expected to thwart federal rollbacks; Governor, critics call out 'boilerplate' bills from WY 2025 session.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump faces legal battles over education cuts, immigration actions, and moves by DOGE. Farmers struggle with USDA freezing funds. A Georgetown scholar fights deportation, and Virginia debates voter roll purges ahead of elections.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Cuts to Medicaid and frozen funding for broadband are both likely to have a negative impact on rural healthcare, which is already struggling. Plus, lawsuits over the mass firing of federal workers have huge implications for public lands.

With new caps, WI Medicare enrollees expected to save $1500 next year

play audio
Play

Tuesday, September 3, 2024   

Older Wisconsin residents struggling to manage prescription drug costs, have new data on how much they might save as a new federal rule kicks in early next year.

The Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law two years ago, includes several provisions designed to address affordability issues for people needing medications.

Most of the changes are meant to help Medicare enrollees. Starting January 1, the new rule will cap out-of-pocket drug costs at $2,000 annually for those under Medicare's Part D.

David Bowen, advocacy director for AARP Wisconsin, detailed the estimated savings.

"Medicare drug plan enrollees nationwide, who reach the new out-of-pocket cap," said Bowen, "will see an average savings of roughly $1,500, or 56%, in 2025."

At the state level, the analysis predicts these savings will benefit nearly 50,000 Wisconsinites next year.

Other IRA provisions have already kicked in, including a $35 cap on monthly insulin costs for Medicare recipients. Drug makers have criticized these changes, arguing they will hurt innovation.

Bowen said the pending out-of-pocket changes mean older people dealing with health issues, such as diabetes, will get much-needed relief when refilling their prescriptions.

Collectively, he said these moves should get to the core of the cost issue consumer advocates have been talking about for years.

"We have older Wisconsinites that are choosing either limiting their supply of their prescriptions," said Bowen, "or they literally are taking resources that are used to pay for other essentials to sometimes cover the cost."

Last month, the Biden administration unveiled price-reduction agreements for the first group of Medicare-covered drugs included in negotiations with manufacturers.

The lower cost of those drugs takes effect in 2026.



Disclosure: AARP Wisconsin contributes to our fund for reporting on Budget Policy & Priorities, Consumer Issues, Health Issues, Senior Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
PoliChic Engagement Fund says it's critical Texans make sure lawmakers are voting in their public interest. (JHVEPhoto/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Many Texans feel strongly, one way or another, about the proposed school voucher bill before state lawmakers. Gov. Greg Abbott has proposed a plan to …


Social Issues

play sound

As the Trump administration makes good on promises to abolish the U.S. Department of Education, educators and parents are raising concerns about the …

Environment

play sound

Greenpeace has been ordered to pay several hundred million dollars stemming from the Dakota Access Pipeline protests and some are saying the verdict l…


Gregor Willms assists the Cedarburg High School team in the soil pit at Envirothon 2024. (Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Association)

Environment

play sound

A local event that brings students face-to-face with outdoor habitats is serving to ignite a lifelong passion in some that go on to pursue "green jobs…

Social Issues

play sound

While affordable housing advocates across the state have been cheering on Washington's rent stabilization bill in Olympia, so have organizations …

Social Issues

play sound

The number of working-age Wyoming adults with college degrees or valuable credentials increased by over 18% between 2009 and 2023, according to …

Environment

play sound

The organization Practical Farmers of Iowa is helping urban crop growers use beneficial insects to control pests, boost soil health and increase …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021