Tag: Drug Prices

Will you get insulin-cost relief from the inflation bill? Not if you have private insurance

Ms. Cat

Will you get insulin-cost relief from the inflation bill? Not if you have private insurance

But an out-of-pocket cap identical to that for Medicare was stripped from the bill for those with private insurance because Democrats are trying to pass the bill by a simple majority through the reconciliation process. That requires Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough to vet the provisions. She said most of the health-related features were fine, but the insulin proposal for those who have private insurance, not Medicare, violated the Byrd provision, which says that issues “extraneous to the federal budget” cannot be passed by simple majority through reconciliation.

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Out-of-pocket spending for those with Part D Medicare drug coverage will be capped at $2,000 a year.

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In 2024, a 5% coinsurance payment that now kicks in after someone reaches the catastrophic drug spending level of $7,050 in Medicare will end. Because drug companies set their own prices, 5% on expensive drugs can be a lot of money.

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Manchin’s Climate Reversal Comes With Major Caveat: Expanding Oil and Gas

Ms. Cat1 Comment

Conservative coal baron Sen. Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) announced on Wednesday that he has come to an agreement with Democratic leaders for a reconciliation bill with key climate, prescription drug price and tax reforms — with a major caveat to expand oil and gas exploration.

Manchin’s Climate Reversal Comes With Major Caveat: Expanding Oil and Gas

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Senate Dems reach draft deal to extend ACA premiums, lower drug costs

Also included in the Inflation Reduction Act — a bid to lower drug prices. Medicare will be allowed to negotiate the prices of some 10 pharmaceutical drugs in 2026, 15 more drugs in 2027 and 2028 and 20 more in 2029. In addition to price negotiation, the bill also imposes penalizing rebates on pharmaceutical manufacturers who hike drug costs above the rate of inflation starting next year.

The Centre of International Insecurity

Ms. Cat

The Biden administration is no longer in charge of the White House. Relying on a select network of think-tanks and their corporate proxies, the Big Defense is. What it wants, it seems to get.

The Centre of International Insecurity

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Scott [Horton] is joined by Dan Steinbock to discuss an article he wrote about the network of Democratic organizations running American foreign policy. Steinbock has dug deep into the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) and WestExec Advisors, two organizations that have allowed top foreign policy officials to make money cycling between government, think tank and advisory roles. Steinbock also takes a step back and examines how these organizations are connected to weapons companies, Wall Street and technology firms.

6/27/22 Dan Steinbock: How Hawkish Democrats Make Money Pushing War

America Is Headed for Class Warfare + More

Ms. Cat

Nothing has revealed the class divide in the U.S. quite like runaway inflation and skyrocketing gas prices. But in addition to the economic impact the staggering incompetence of the Biden administration is having on the working class, there is a political one; it’s undeniably driving working class voters even further from the Democrats and toward the GOP.

America Is Headed for Class Warfare

Related:

“Workers aren’t getting bailed out like the billionaires”: Detroit workers livid over surging gas prices

“It’s just really hard to live”: Chicago workers describe impact of surging food and gas prices

Xavier Becerra, Biden Nominee to Lead HHS, Said in 2017 That He ‘Absolutely’ Supports Medicare for All

Ms. Cat

Xavier Becerra, Biden Nominee to Lead HHS, Said in 2017 That He ‘Absolutely’ Supports Medicare for All

As the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday, “Although Mr. Becerra has endorsed Medicare for All… people familiar with the process said he supports Mr. Biden’s plan to expand healthcare access through a public option.”

The New York Times similarly reported that “a source familiar with the selection said Mr. Becerra would support the president-elect’s call for strengthening and preserving the ACA and would not be pushing Medicare for All while in office.”