Heinrich Announces New Rules From Inflation Reduction Act That Will Lower Costs for New Mexicans in 2024

FACT SHEET: HOW INFLATION REDUCTION ACT IS LOWERING RX COSTS FOR NEW MEXICANS 

WASHINGTON – With more than 450,000 people in New Mexico on Medicare, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) is announcing that, for the first time ever, there will be a cap on total out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for New Mexico seniors.

On January 1, 2024, the InflationReductionAct began capping out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs at an estimated $3,300, providing substantial relief for individuals facing high medication expenses. This new Medicare drug cap comes in tandem with several other major healthcare provisions Heinrich helped secure, including free vaccines for seniors and a $35 insulin cap for those on Medicare.

“I fought hard to pass the Inflation Reduction Act because I knew that it would be life-changing for New Mexico families. Today, we’re seeing this landmark bill do exactly what we intended — deliver real results for New Mexicans by lowering health care costs and putting money back in their pockets. With more provisions from this legislation coming online soon, we're only just getting started,” said Heinrich.

This cap will be particularly important for seniors who are being treated for leukemia, multiple myeloma, bone, lung and brain cancer, cystic fibrosis, organ transplants, and hypertension. Last year, before the cap was in place, seniors who took any of three commonly-used cancer drugs - Lynparza, Ibrance, and Xtandi – averaged about $12,000 per year in spending on those drugs alone. 

Many key provisions in the IRA have already gone into effect, making significant strides in improving the lives of New Mexicans, including:

• Free vaccinations for shingles and other recommended vaccinations for seniors. Before the IRA, Medicare beneficiaries were the only patients in the country required to pay for vaccines. This provision has already helped to lower costs for more than 24,700 New Mexicans.

• $35 monthly cap on out-of-pocket costs for insulin in Medicare Parts D and B. This provision has already helped lower costs for 8,700 NewMexicans.

Additionally, the White House recently announced 48 Medicare Part B drugs that raised their prices faster than inflation, and some drug companies raised prices of certain medications faster than inflation for every quarter over the last year. The IRA provisions Heinrich helped deliver will now require these companies to pay rebates back to Medicare, saving seniors who take these drugs between $1 and $2,786 per dose, depending on their medication. 

In August 2022, soon after the IRA was signed into law, Heinrich welcomed U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra to Las Cruces, N.M., where they held a roundtable discussion with AARP New Mexico to discuss provisions from the law that would lower health care costs, strengthen the Affordable Care Act, and allow Medicare to negotiate prices and protect consumers. 

A longer list of provisions Heinrich helped to secure in the Inflation Reduction Act can be found here.