FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Announces New Tools to Lower Prescription Drug Costs for Low-Income Seniors and People with Disabilities
The Biden-Harris Administration is announcing new tools to lower prescription drug costs for low-income people with Medicare through the Extra Help program, which provides eligible seniors and disabled people with help paying for their Medicare Part D premiums and cost-sharing. These resources complement forthcoming expansions in Extra Help benefits and will ensure more people eligible for benefits are enrolled in this vital program.
In August 2022, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law—one of the most consequential health care laws since the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Among several policies intended to lower prescription drug costs, the law expands eligibility for the full low-income subsidy benefit—known as the Extra Help program—to individuals with limited resources and incomes up to 150% of the federal poverty level, or $21,870 per year - PDF in 2023 for most individuals, who meet eligibility criteria.
Beginning January 1, 2024, eligible seniors and people with disabilities will benefit even more through the expansion of the Extra Help program. Nearly 300,000 low-income people with Medicare currently enrolled in the Extra Help program stand to benefit from the program’s expansion.1 People with Extra Help currently with partial benefits who will be newly eligible for full benefits will pay no deductible, no premium, fixed lower copayments for certain medications, and could save nearly $300 per year, on average, according to estimates.