The Medicare Doughnut Hole

[paulj227901]

 Is AARP involved in any work or discussions with Congress to eliminate the Doughnut Hole in Medicare?  It costs seniors, who are quite vulnerable, money that we can not afford to lose. Congress MUST eliminate this sinkhole that we seniors can not afford to pour money into.  I write to my elected officials constantly, yet no one does anything to address this abomination of a rule.

[GailL1]

@paulj227901 

Your TOTAL Out of Pocket cost (what you actually pay) will be limited to $ 2000 beginning in 2025 -

In fact, this year - 2024 - your total out of pocket should be only around $3300.  

Read all about the 2025 changes to the Part D program on the Medicare website -

Medicare.gov - Saving Money With the Prescription Drug Law 

For those who don’t go to the complete Medicare linked page - here is what this part says (copied and pasted from the above linked Medicare page)

Lower out-of-pocket drug costs

• You might pay a lower coinsurance amount for certain drugs and biologicals covered by Part B, if their prices have increased higher than the rate of inflation. The specific drugs and potential savings change every quarter.
• If you have drug costs high enough to reach the catastrophic coverage phase in your Medicare drug coverage, you won’t have to pay a copayment or coinsurance, starting in 2024.
• Extra Help affording prescription drug coverage (the Part D Low-Income Subsidy (LIS) program) will expand to cover more drug costs for people with limited resources who earn less than 150% of the federal poverty level, starting in 2024. People who qualify for Extra Help generally will pay no more than $4.50 for each generic drug and $11.20 for each brand-name drug.
• Your yearly Part Dout-of-pocket costs will be capped at $2,000, starting in 2025. You’ll also have the option to pay out-of-pocket costs in monthly amounts over the plan year, instead of when they happen.

• If the price of a drug covered by Part B (Medical Insurance) increased faster than the rate of inflation, you might pay less than 20% coinsurance for that drug. The specific drugs that are impacted and the potential savings may change every quarter. Get more information about Part B-covered drugs.

I hope this answers your concern -