YORKTOWN, Va. – Chuck Cooper should be taking his meds to keep his type 2 diabetes under control, but the out-of-control prices are forcing him to make a difficult decision.
His wife Laurie said he pays a total of $1,300 for two diabetic drugs through Medicare.
“We can’t afford that – $800 and $509 every 90 days on Social Security,” she said. “It’s outrageous. It’s totally outrageous.”
The Yorktown couple is on a fixed income. With other drug costs, including Laurie’s insulin, Chuck has stopped buying his medication. The move could cost him his life.
“Without his medicine and his sugars get out of control, he could die. Go into a coma and die,” Laurie Cooper said. “He could have a heart attack.”
The Inflation Reduction Act could help by cutting the price of some prescriptions for seniors like Chuck and others on Medicare.
The bill limits out-of-pocket prices on drugs to $2,000 a year for those on Part D Medicare.
It also limits price hikes overall by allowing the government to negotiate what Medicare pays for some drugs.
Additionally, the legislation prevents drugmakers from raising prices faster than the rate of inflation.
The couple is staying hopeful.
“This is not right,” said Laurie Cooper. “This is not right. We need to be able to afford our medicine.”
Starting next year, vaccines will be free for seniors on Medicare.
Some of the savings on the bill, however, won’t kick in immediately. They’ll be phased in over the next several years.
