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John,
We wanted to be sure you heard the news: For the first time in 10 years, Medicare premiums are going down for seniors.
That’s right: Every person who receives Medicare will pay less next year than they do this year. As prices keep going up in sectors of our economy, Medicare is charging less.
Why did this happen? Well, you had something to do with it.
Last year, Medicare premiums shot up largely due to a single newly available drug: the Alzheimer’s treatment Aduhelm. But most studies showed that Aduhelm―which would have cost $56,000 per patient―had little to no effect on Alzheimer’s, and that its FDA approval process was marked with corruption.1
Social Security Works members leaped into action. We coordinated with allies like More Perfect Union and the Other 98%, and together we generated a record-breaking number of comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, urging them not to approve the drug without further study. And Medicare listened, restricting coverage until further evidence is available.
In past years, Social Security’s annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) has been consumed by even higher Medicare premium increases―which are automatically deducted from Social Security payments. That left seniors struggling to keep up with rising prices. Because of the work we’ve done together, next year’s COLA will actually show up in seniors’ Social Security checks.
This is just the beginning―Big Pharma isn’t used to losing, but in 2022 we handed them two big Ls. First, when Medicare restricted Aduhlem, then when the Inflation Reduction Act closed George W. Bush’s loophole that stopped Medicare from negotiating lower drug prices.
Of course, Republicans are promising to reverse this progress if they win in November―starting with repealing the prescription drug portions of the Inflation Reduction Act. And many Republicans are publicly promising to cut or privatize Social Security and Medicare―which makes you wonder what they’re saying to their Wall Street donors behind closed doors.
You made these victories possible. Thanks for fighting with us,
Alex Lawson
Social Security Works
1 https://twitter.com/MorePerfectUS/status/1471618149195915269
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