How Project 2025 Could Raise Prescription Drug Costs for Seniors
Prescription medications are a lifeline for millions of Americans, especially seniors who rely on Medicare and its regulations governing them. However, if Project 2025, a sweeping conservative policy blueprint, is implemented, prescription costs could rise dramatically.
Key provisions of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) are set to bring relief. This year, Medicare Part D implemented a $2,000 annual cap on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs—a move expected to save seniors thousands of dollars annually (1). In addition, the IRA allows Medicare to negotiate prices for the most expensive drugs, creating leverage to drive down costs over time.
Project 2025 would reverse those provisions by repealing the IRA entirely, eliminating Medicare’s ability to negotiate drug prices and removing the new cost cap (2). The result? Drug prices could spike, leaving seniors exposed to runaway pharmaceutical costs they’ve long struggled to manage.
Why This Matters
Nearly 50 million people are enrolled in Medicare Part D. Many take multiple medications daily to manage chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes, or cancer. Without cost protections, seniors may be forced to choose between prescriptions and other essentials like groceries or rent or skipping medications which often leads to worsening health and ultimately higher costs down the road. According to Business Insider, many Medicare recipients are already struggling to keep up with medical bills, and upcoming changes have some “scrambling for new plans” as insurance companies drop coverage or consolidate (3).
Project 2025 also promotes a shift toward Medicare Advantage plans, which are privately run and usually more restrictive. Though marketed as cost-saving alternatives, these plans may offer fewer protections, narrower formularies (drug lists), and less consistent out-of-pocket limits (4). In addition, such plans cost taxpayers more than traditional Medicare and, according to a Medicare Inspector General report, are denying care to boost profits (5).
What does this mean for you or your family?
If Project 2025 recommendations are enacted:
- Drug prices will rise for Medicare recipients, especially those who rely on brand-name or specialty medications.
- The $2,000 out-of-pocket cap will disappear, exposing seniors to uncapped annual costs.
- Medicare’s negotiating power will vanish, allowing pharmaceutical companies to set prices with no federal oversight.
Take Action
- Learn more; read nonpartisan sources about Project 2025 and the Inflation Reduction Act.
- Contact elected officials. Let them know you support Medicare’s negotiating ability and want cost protections preserved.
- Review your coverage annually; check during open enrollment whether your plan protects you from rising drug costs.
Prescription medications shouldn’t be a luxury. For seniors across the country – and right here in Tuolumne County – access to affordable medication can be the difference between life and death.
NOTES
- “Medicare and You 2025 Handbook,” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
- Suhas Gondi, MD, “How Project 2025 Would Jeopardize Americans’ Health,” Time, August 27, 2024.
- “Medicare Coverage Will Change in 2025. Some Boomers Are Already Struggling to Keep Up with Their Medical Bills.” Business Insider, Insider Inc., October 22, 2024.
- “Critiquing Project 2025: Medicare.” Health Justice Monitor, Physicians for a National Health Program, 2024.
- “Some Medicare Advantage Organization Denials of Prior Authorization Requests Raise Concerns About Beneficiary Access to Medically Necessary Care, Report in Brief, OEI-09-18-00260,” Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, April 2022.