Pennsylvania women benefiting from cost savings on health care due to the Inflation Reduction Act

Pennsylvania’s women are saving money on health care costs right now. Here’s the government program that’s silently working on their behalf.

In late summer 2022, a federal law with a vague name was passed — and because of it, more than 1.5 million women in Pennsylvania are saving money. Here’s a quick briefing on who’s paying less right now than they would without it.

What the Inflation Reduction Act Offers

Inflation Reduction Act was largely touted as a win for climate change and clean energy, but it also included little-discussed health care provisions that have made a number of medical services less expensive.

Who’s Benefiting

• Diabetics. People on Medicaid had their insulin prices capped at $35 — that’s from the Inflation Reduction Act. Major insulin providers have now made the $35 cap standard on insulin for everyone, even the uninsured. In Pennsylvania, an estimated 76,535 people are diagnosed with diabetes every year.
• Seniors on Medicare who need a vaccine. More than 2 million Pennsylvanians on Medicare did not get charged for a long list of vaccines that, in the past, they would have had to pay out-of-pocket for.
• Seniors on Medicare who get prescriptions. Those 2 million Pennsylvanians on Medicare also have a prescription drug cost cap starting in 2025 which essentially means prescription costs won’t top $167 a month.
• Seniors on Medicare who use certain prescription drugs — mainly women. The federal government now negotiates prices of prescription drugs covered by Medicare. The price drops will start in 2026, benefiting many women who spent $1.55 billion out of their own pockets on medications in 2022.
• Why Women? The Inflation Reduction Act targeted areas of women’s health that could help their wallets the most due to factors like the gender wage gap, occupational segregation, and lack of supportive child care policies.

Legislation Details

Who’s behind it: The Inflation Reduction Act passed with only votes from Democrats, including Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey. Every single Republican in Congress voted against it. President Joe Biden signed it into law in August 2022. It’s funded through tax reform and prescription drug reform.