Lancaster Dems praise Inflation Reduction Act’s lowering of prescription drug costs

Lancaster County Democrats celebrated the two-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act on Friday. The landmark legislation has helped millions of Pa. residents with lower prescription drug costs and more.

Democrats in Lancaster County celebrated the two year anniversary of the Biden-Harris administration’s passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) today. 

“There’s a lot of things that go into that bill that I was very excited about, clean energy and a lot of economic opportunities for all of us, but it’s the healthcare aspect that sometimes we overshadow. We don’t always realize that it affects us personally,” Lancaster City Council Vice President Jamie Arroyo said at a press conference on Friday.

The landmark legislation is responsible for helping 76,000 Pennsylvanians keep their healthcare coverage thanks to extending subsidies for their health insurance plans that was made possible by the Affordable Care Act. 

It also lowered prescription drug costs for close to 3 million Pennsylvanians and capped the cost of insulin for seniors at $35 per month. 

Lancaster County Commissioner Alice Yoder thanked Kamala Harris for casting the tie-breaking vote in the US Senate. Harris’ vote led to the administration announcing billions in savings on prescription costs for seniors thanks to negotiations with drug manufacturers.  

“Just yesterday, we saw how much savings we can expect thanks to Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote that finally gives Medicare the power to negotiate drug prices. Seniors across America are set to save $1.5 billion on the out-of-pocket prescription drug cost in just the first year,” Yoder said.

“This is real money that is going back into patient’s pockets and taking some of the stress off their shoulders because Kamala Harris took on big pharma. Common drugs that treat diabetes, blood clots, kidney disease will have their price be cut by more than half.”

Dr. Ada Emuwa, a family physician in the City of Lancaster, praised the Biden-Harris administration for lowering the costs and these life-saving medicines. 

“These are common drugs that treat diabetes, heart failure, and kidney disease. These are drugs that save people’s lives, but unfortunately, I have met all too many patients who have not taken these medications,” Emuwa said. 

“No one should suffer from heart failure or leave diabetes untreated just because they cannot afford their prescriptions, especially here in the United States of America. There’s so much on the line this election, especially when it comes to seniors across Pennsylvania and whether they can make ends meet and afford the lifesaving medications that they need.”