Medicare's $2,000 prescription drug cap expected to bring major relief to cancer patients
Source: NBC News
Dec. 25, 2024, 5:00 AM EST
Starting Jan. 1, older adults on Medicare will spend no more than $2,000 a year on prescription drugs when a new price cap on out-of-pocket payments from the Inflation Reduction Act goes into effect. Experts say the change is expected to provide major relief for cancer patients who often struggle to afford their medications due to the high cost of cancer drugs.
Diana DiVito, of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, recalls the shock she felt after she got her first co-payment for the cancer drug Imbruvica in 2016. The 83-year-old was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, a type of blood cancer that begins in the bone marrow, in 2005. She underwent treatment, including chemotherapy, and went into remission. When she had a recurrence, she started taking Imbruvica.
By 2021, DiVito had spent $56,000 out-of-pocket on the daily pill. “The co-pays blew me away,” said DiVito, who added she’s been on limited income since her husband died in 2023. “It started out the first year was $8,500 out of pocket, and then it went up about $1,000 every year after that.”
The new price cap will apply to all prescription drugs under Medicare Part D; it won’t apply to drugs given to patients in the hospital or other health care settings, such as chemotherapy or anesthesia. Medicare recipients will also have the new option of spreading their payments out over the course of the year, rather than paying a large co-payment all at once.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/medicare-prescription-drug-cap-cancer-relief-january-rcna185251
= new reply since forum marked as read
We have lots of patients on drugs that cost anywhere from $2000 to $86,000 a MONTH. That’s obscene.
Right now, there’s a new eye drop for blepharitis from eye mites, of all things—over $2300 for a 6-week course—but the kicker is that the manufacturer of that drug (the only one specifically for this diagnosis) has a “patient assistance” program where many patients end up with no copay… and I assume the manufacturer is about to reap HUGE financial rewards at tax time as they write off those “charitable contributions” to reduce or eliminate their tax burden. 
Topical Metronidazole (Metro Gel) which is for my rosacea (blepharitis is related!). But even with my insurance coverage, one tube is $700 !
So, I do without. My face looks like I have bad acne, something I did not have at the more appropriate age range of high school! At 70 years of age, I’m very frustrated and annoyed and embarrassed.
After January 1st, maybe I should consider getting the Rx filled! 
