MD Healthcare for All seeks bi-partisan backing for Inflation Act

TL/DR –

Healthcare advocates in Maryland are urging political candidates to support the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) at a federal level, an act set to expire in 2025. The IRA, which allows Medicare to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies to regulate prescription costs and caps insulin expenses at $35 per month for Medicare recipients, has reportedly resulted in health insurance savings for Maryland residents. MD Healthcare For All President, Vinny DeMarco, is advocating for the expansion of the IRA’s reach to non-Medicaid recipients and is pushing for the establishment of a federal prescription drug affordability board.

Maryland Advocates Push for Support of Inflation Reduction Act

As Maryland’s general election candidates take shape, healthcare advocates from both parties urge them to support the federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), due to expire in 2025.

Vinny DeMarco, President of MD Healthcare For All, states that Marylanders saved on health insurance thanks to Medicaid expansion and temporary expansion of ACA private insurance subsidies.

Despite previous opposition, DeMarco calls on Rep. Andy Harris and other delegates to support the IRA, expanding its reach to non-Medicaid recipients as suggested by President Biden.

“We want every U.S. House and U.S. Senate candidate in Maryland to support the Inflation Reduction Act by July 15th. All Marylanders benefit from the IRA, and we want every Maryland congressional delegate to back it,” DeMarco said.

The IRA allows Medicare to negotiate with major pharmaceutical companies to control high-cost prescriptions. It limits the price for insulin to $35/month for Medicare recipients and caps out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs at $2000/year from 2025.

“These changes will save tens of millions of Americans, including many in Maryland, from the burden of expensive drugs. They will also save the U.S. Treasury hundreds of billions a year,” DeMarco explained.

By solidifying support for the IRA, a federal prescription drug affordability board – similar to the one currently scaling up in Maryland – could become a national reality, according to DeMarco. Candidates have until July 15th to respond.

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