Earlier this week, the Trump administration said it was ending Medicare Part D subsidies that lower people’s prescription drug costs. At the same time, the Trump administration has allowed pharmaceutical companies to continue to raise their prices for many high-cost drugs rather than rein them in. Consequently, it’s likely that older adults and people with disabilities will face higher prescription drug costs in 2027 reports Rebecca Robbins and Reed Abelson for The New York Times.
The Biden administration passed legislation to lower prescription drug costs for people with Medicare. It gave Medicare the power to negotiate prescription drug prices for dozens of drugs, and it put an out of pocket cap on people’s drug costs under Medicare Part D. The Biden administration also gave billions of additional dollars to health insurers offering Part D to reduce costs for people with Medicare.
Presdient Trump has allowed prescription drug prices in the US to remain two to four times higher than prices in other wealthy nations, breaking his promise to Americans that we would pay no more than people in other wealthy nations for our drugs.
As a result of the Trump administration’s decision to end Medicare Part D premium subsidies, it’s more than likely that people with Medicare will see the cost of their drug coverage rise by hundreds of dollars in 2027. Medicare head, Dr. Mehmet Oz, says that the insurers do not need the subsidies to offer low-cost prescription drug coverage. But, he admits that premiums for drug coverage will rise, saying that they will go up as much as $120 a year.
We will know very soon what the Part D insurers will charge in premiums in 2027. CMS will release the 2027 Part D premiums in September. On average, people in traditional Medicare now pay about $36 a month for prescription drug coverage under Medicare Part D. In addition, they must pay copays for their drugs up to $2,100 a year.
Here’s more from Just Care:
- 2026: Medicare Part D prescription drug costs and benefits
- Medicare Part D drug coverage: Three things to think about when choosing a drug plan
- Medicare Part D drug coverage stunts are rampant
- Case study: Costco saves one couple hundreds of dollars over Medicare Part D
- Online pharmacies can save you money
