Inflation Reduction Act 2022

On August 16th, 2022, President Joe Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act. What does this mean for us? The Inflation Reduction Act lowers prescription drug costs, health care costs, and energy costs. It also aims to help the environment. The biggest change: Medicare now has a system of sponsors providing a prescription drug benefit. The Inflation Act helps many Americans and promotes a more sustainable approach to saving the Earth.

American citizens are paying three times more for prescription drugs than other countries. Medication can be extremely expensive, making it difficult for people with illnesses to receive the care they need. The White House explained how this act will help families afford prescription drugs: “[C]osts at the pharmacy are capped at $2,000 per year, directly benefiting about 1.4 million beneficiaries each year.¨ This aspect of the bill will help many Americans. It's taken over thirty years for Congressional Democrats to lower prescription drug costs or to give Medicare the ability to negotiate drug prices. Lowering drug costs and allowing prices to be negotiated will ease the burden of purchasing necessary medications.

Over 30 million Americans struggle with diabetes. More than 7 million of these Americans require insulin daily. With this act, Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes will receive insulin at a new, lower cost: $35 for a month’s supply. More than 3 million Americans will be able to receive health insurance. Without this act, these Americans would not have health insurance.

The bill focuses largely on helping the Earth’s environment. For example, Americans who set up solar panels in their homes will receive a 30% tax credit. It is estimated that 7.5 million families will be able to have solar panels. The bill also promotes electric cars. According to The White House, Americans who purchase an electric car will receive “$7,500 in tax credits for new electric vehicles and $4,000 for used electric vehicles.¨ Electric cars decrease the amount of air pollution being produced.

President Biden thought it was important for this act to contribute to a ¨clean energy economy.¨ What is a clean energy economy? Essentially, businesses and communities will be able to afford to build 950 million solar panels, 120,000 wind turbines, and 2,300 grid-scale battery plants. With these changes, we will be able to clean our air and environment. Thus, making the world a better and healthier place. A large-scale effort at fighting pollution like this would help many Americans suffering who suffer from asthma.

The inflation reduction act is beneficial to all of us. It considers the needs of others by making prescription drugs more accessible and affordable. The energy aspect of the act would help our environment and keep our world healthy. It's important to take into consideration how many families struggled with trying to pay for their medication. If you would like to learn more, check out https://www.patientadvocate.org/. For daily activities that you can do to keep our planet healthy, visit https://www.cleanearthfoundation.com/.