Keystone Today

Mark Merritt, Founder of Medicare is for Seniors, said seniors in Pennsylvania "deserve an explanation" from Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-Penn.) as data shows medicare rates increasing despite promises from Harris and Casey that the Inflation Reduction Act would lower drug costs. 

"Harris and Casey promised the Inflation Reduction Act would reduce seniors' drug costs," Merritt told Keystone Today. "Instead, Medicare rates skyrocketed. Seniors deserve an explanation."

On August 15, 2024, Harris issued a statement claiming that the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has "cut prescription drug costs, capped the cost of insulin at $35 a month, and lowered premiums for seniors and people with disabilities on Medicare." Harris casted the tie-breaking vote on the bill's passage. 

Data from the Biden-Harris administration reported that seniors' prescription drug costs have increased by 31 percent, according to an October 18 opinion piece for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution written by Merritt. 

"Rates for Medicare Prescription Drug Plans have risen four times more than the national rate of inflation since the IRA was enacted," Merritt wrote in the article. "In some battlegrounds, it's risen eight or nine times higher." 

Per the Inflation Reduction Act "Misery Index," in Pennsylvania, Medicare prescription drug costs have risen by 35 percent since 2022, outpacing the national average.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said "Congressional Democrats in the Inflation Reduction Act significantly redesigned the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit at an estimated cost of nearly $30 billion over 10 years. PDP sponsors then moved to increase their plan bids and base beneficiary premiums, while reducing plan offerings for 2025."

The Premium Stabilization Demonstration program was "unnecessary since the IRA reduced federal spending on Medicare drugs by almost $300 billion," according to Merritt. "There should‘ve been plenty of funds available to improve benefits and reduce costs for seniors." Medicare savings were diverted to fund other IRA spending, including $1 trillion for green energy subsidies.

These subsidies include "a $7,500 tax credit for luxury electric vehicles, a $4,000 previously-owned electric vehicle credit, an annual $1,200 credit for 'energy efficient' doors and windows, and more." These credits would primarly benefit wealthier Americans, while seniors, many of whom live on annual incomes of under $30,000, would continue to pay more for prescription drugs.

A West Health-Gallup poll of Americans 18 and older conducted between November 13, 2023, and January 8, 2024, found that roughly 49 million people, including 7.5 million aged 65 and older who are on Medicare, view healthcare costs as a "major burden." 31 percent of respondents said they were "concerned" or "extremely concerned" about their ability to afford prescription drugs in the coming year, a rise from 25 percent in 2022. Among Americans aged 65 and older, this concern increased from 20 percent in 2022 to 31 percent in 2024.

Mark Merritt is the founder of advocacy group Medicare is for Seniors. Merritt has served as a senior executive in several health industry groups and has been called for expert testimony before congress.