WASHINGTON, D.C. — AARP has released a new report that estimates millions of Medicare enrollees will benefit from an upcoming cap on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs. 

What You Need To Know

  • AARP released a new report on an upcoming out-of-pocket cap on prescription drug cost for Medicare Part D enrollees

  • The $2,000 cap in January is part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act

  • The pharmaceutical industry has lobbied against some of the IRA's provisions, arguing that they will thwart medical developments

In January, a new out-of-pocket cap starting at $2,000 per year for prescription drug costs will be in effect for Medicare Part D enrollees. 

AARP estimates more than 3 million Americans will benefit from it in the first year, including nearly 204,000 Floridians.

"On average, around 1.4 million of these enrollees will save $1,000 or more each year, and over 400,000 will see saving exceeding $3,000," AARP Public Policy Institute Prescription Drug Policy Principal Leigh Purvis said during a media briefing Wednesday. 

The change is part of the Inflation Reduction Act President Joe Biden signed into law in 2022, which AARP supported. The law also included a $35 monthly insulin cap, and allows Medicare to negotiate prices with certain prescription drug companies. 

Diana DiVito, an AARP Pennsylvania Member who has been battling a form of leukemia, says the upcoming cap will make a big impact in taming the cost of life-saving medications she needs to fight cancer.  

"I want everyone to know how important this $2,000 cap in 2025 will be for people like me," she said. "It's a real life-changer. And everyone doesn't understand — if you're not taking one of these expensive drugs, you don't realize the impact that it has on your life. It's a tremendous weight off my shoulders, and I'm incredibly grateful."

AARP estimates 4.1 million enrollees will benefit from the cap by 2029.