Paying for MS Medication and IRA
My wife has had multiple sclerosis for 25 years.
Over there 25-year period, we've gone from three medications to well over a dozen. Unfortunately they all seem to be the same price.
Whether it's a one or day pill or once a month shot, they all are well over $10,000 a month.
My wife is on a Medicare Advantage plan and can't qualify for planned D until she turns 65.
Can she get her medications using the new Joe Biden IRA prescription drug plan?
To get Part D, she will have to revert to a traditional Medicare plan. I don't know the details, but it is apparently tricky to change to traditional Medicare after you are on a Medicare Advantage program. In any case, open enrollment ends Dec.7 so if you haven't already started, do it now!
As for the new rules, it covers the 54 drugs listed here:
https://www.cms.gov/files/document/reduced-coinsurance-certain-part-b-rebatable-drugs-october-1-december-31-2024.pdf
It also limits out-of-pocket costs to $2,000/yr ($3,500 in some cases).
It will likely remain in effect for 2025 because people will have enrolled before the new government comes in, but it is almost a given that in 2025, they will dismantle these rules for 2026 and beyond.
, thank you for sharing this information for ! I always admit that I don't fully know all the ins-and-outs of Medicare coverage, so I appreciate when more knowledgeable folks share information like this.
Best, Erin, Team Member.
