What's in the Inflation Reduction Act? 

President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act — a climate, health care and tax package — into law on Aug. 16.

After the bill-signing, former President Barack Obama impishly tweeted: "This is a BFD."

Obama's tweet was a not-so-subtle reference to what then-Vice President Biden said to then-President Obama when the Affordable Care Act became law -- except Biden didn't use the PG-rated acronym.

So, what's so big about the new law? How will it affect you? Don't worry. Our staff has you covered. 

Managing Editor Lori Robertson looked at the Medicare provisions in her story "Medicare Prescription Drug Provisions of Inflation Reduction Act."

As Lori writes, the new law includes several provisions affecting prescription drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries: 

• Requiring the federal government to negotiate prices for some Medicare drugs, 10 medications to start in 2026, rising to 20 in 2029.
• Capping seniors’ out-of-pocket costs at $2,000 a year for Medicare’s prescription drugs.
• Requiring rebates from drug companies if their prices increase faster than inflation.
• Expanding eligibility for prescription drug benefits in the Part D low-income subsidy program.
• Capping monthly insulin copays at $35.
• Making vaccines free, with no out-of-pocket costs.

The Inflation Reduction Act also invests about $385 billion in energy and climate change incentives, including tax credits for the production of solar and wind energy equipment and the purchase of electric vehicles.

For details -- such as the size of the tax credits and who is eligible -- read Staff Writer D'Angelo Gore's story “How Does the Inflation Reduction Act Address Climate Change?”

Deputy Managing Editor Rob Farley looked into the tax provisions of the bill. During the debate, both political parties haggled over whether it would raise taxes. It will. The taxes fall heavily on the wealthy and companies that have profits in excess of $1 billion.  

Rob explains who will pay more taxes in "Sorting Out the Partisan Tax Spin on Inflation Reduction Act."

There's also about $79 billion in the new law for the IRS. Staff Writer Brea Jones explains how the money will -- and won't -- be spent in her article "IRS Will Target ‘High-Income’ Tax Evaders with New Funding, Contrary to Social Media Posts."

Reader: Canadian doctors deaths. ["Three Canadian Doctors Died of Long-Term Illnesses, Contrary to False Claims COVID-19 Vaccine Was Cause," Aug. 4]

Why aren’t you reporting on the other 3 that have died. And only fact checking the ones that are long term Heath issues? What about the ones that died of heart attacks under 30 and the latest that is cause unknown? 

Please at least be honest, thorough and up to date on your fact checking. Thank you. 

FactCheck.org Director Eugene Kiely: We fact check specific claims. We wrote about these three doctors because Gateway Pundit published a story that carried the headline, "Three doctors from the same hospital 'die suddenly' in the same week." The story included photos and names of the three doctors and quoted an anonymous nurse linking their deaths to COVID-19 vaccines. The website wrote, "According to the nurse, the three doctors died after the hospital started mandating the fourth Covid shot for their employees." The article provided no other evidence. 

We knew the names of the doctors and the hospital where they were attending physicians. Our reporter found all three died of cancer. The hospital system issued a statement that said, “The rumour circulating on social media is simply not true. Their passings were not related to the COVID-19 vaccine. We ask to please respect their families’ privacy during this difficult time.” 

You ask, "Why aren’t you reporting on the other 3 that have died. ... What about the ones that died of heart attacks under 30"?

Provide us with names of these people, so we can check. We did a story on a list of supposedly vaccine-injured athletes that was also published by Gateway Pundit. The website cited these athletes as evidence that “there may be something wrong with the vaccine.” Since the athletes' names were available, we reviewed publicly available information for each of the 19 athletes who either came from or played in the U.S. We found no proof of a causal relationship in any of the cases between the vaccines and the injuries or deaths.

In most cases, there was no public record that indicated whether these athletes were or weren't vaccinated. We detailed each case. Read it for yourself. Our article can be found here.

We are honest and up to date in our coverage of COVID-19 vaccines. Unfortunately, those making these kinds of unsupported claims are being dishonest with you. 

Wrapping Up

Here's what else we've got for you this week:

• "Trump’s Dubious ‘Standing Order’ to Declassify Documents": After the FBI seized U.S. documents from Mar-a-Lago — some of them labeled “top secret” — former President Trump claimed he had a “standing order" that documents "taken to the residence were deemed to be declassified." Numerous experts on national security and the law surrounding classified documents say that isn’t plausible. 
• "U.S. Inflation Rate at ‘Zero’ — for One Month": For the month of July, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Customers was unchanged from June. This has triggered a war of words between Democrats, who crow about “zero percent inflation” for July, and Republicans, who say the Democrats are now trying to “deny there’s inflation.” Both sides have a point. 
• "Crude Oil Prices Down Due to Recession Fears, Contributing to Lower Gasoline Prices": President Joe Biden and members of his administration have touted the falling gasoline prices, suggesting that the decrease was because of the president’s policies. But U.S. presidents have little control over the price that consumers pay for gasoline. We look at the reasons for the decline in gasoline prices. 
• "A Guide to Novavax’s COVID-19 Vaccine": After a long delay marred by manufacturing troubles, a COVID-19 vaccine from Novavax became the fourth such vaccine authorized in the U.S. We review how it works and how it’s different from its competitors.
• "Kathy Griffin Shares Satirical Trump Tweet, But Not Everyone Is in on the Joke": Dozens of former President Donald Trump’s supporters gathered outside his Florida home to protest a recent FBI search of the building. The activity triggered a satirical tweet falsely attributed to Trump’s eldest son, purportedly telling supporters to disperse, and saying, “We have many important people coming through the club and need to keep it clean.” 
• "Poliovirus Found in New York City Wastewater, Not Tap Water": Wastewater surveillance is a public health tool that can track the spread of pathogens. The virus that causes polio was detected in New York City sewage as part of such monitoring efforts. Social media posts, however, have incorrectly claimed the virus was found in tap water. Similar claims have been made about the monkeypox virus.
• "Video Makes Unsubstantiated Claim About Chinese Maneuvers After Pelosi Visit to Taiwan": China held live-fire military drills around Taiwan as a response to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island on Aug. 2. But a video posted on social media made unfounded claims that China had attacked a Taiwanese armory. An expert told us that the claim was false and a majority of the video’s footage did not appear to be from the week of Pelosi's visit. 
• "Photo Shows Electric Car-sharing Lot in China, Contrary to Facebook Post": Congress has passed a bill that would fund incentives to purchase electric vehicles. But a false claim is circulating on social media that purports to show an “electric car cemetery” in France. The photo actually shows a car-sharing company’s storage lot in China. The cars were to be replaced by updated electric vehicles.