President Biden today signed the Inflation Reduction Act, the most significant advancement in addressing health care costs since the Affordable Care Act. The law will lower prescription drug prices by allowing the government to negotiate prices, while also capping out-of-pocket and insulin costs in Medicare. It also prevents pricey premium spikes for 1.5 million enrollees in Covered California.
AB 2080 & AB 1130
SB 967 (Hertzberg) Access to Care
SB 644
AB 1878 & SB 944 CoveredCA Affordability
SB 858 (Wiener)
Congress Votes to Pass Historic Health Bill that will Lower Premiums and Prescription Drug Costs for Californians
42 California Congressmembers voted with health care consumers in support of the Inflation Reduction Act. 11 voted against the bill and their California constituents, and with PHRMA and for higher health costs.
California IRA One Pager (Protect Our Care)
Historic Congressional Vote this Week Would Reduce Health Care Costs for Millions of Californians
This week, the U.S. Congress is poised to vote on a much anticipated package of health and other reforms that will provide both immediate and long-term relief from rising health plan premiums and prescription drug prices. In addition to notable climate change and tax policy provisions, the Inflation Reduction Act represents the most impactful federal legislation on health costs since the passage of the Affordable Care Act.
Covered California Announces 2023 Health Premiums – But Pending Congressional Action Matters More
After three years of record-low premium rate increases of around one percent, Covered California, the state’s health care insurance marketplace, today announced 2023 rates, including a new health plan option, and an average increase of 6% for 2.3 million enrollees in the California individual insurance market, including the record-high 1.7 million in Covered California. While these increases are lower than the national average due to Covered California’s role actively negotiating rates, consumer advocates highlighted that the actual premiums that nearly all enrollees experience will be impacted much more by the decisions in Congress in the next few weeks.