{"id":639,"date":"2026-06-26T14:07:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T14:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/propertytransitionmedia.com\/?p=639"},"modified":"2026-06-26T14:07:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T14:07:10","slug":"democrats-fix-for-a-5-trillion-medicare-spending-increase-is-the-same-proposals-that-caused-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/propertytransitionmedia.com\/?p=639","title":{"rendered":"Democrats’ ‘Fix’ For A $5 Trillion Medicare Spending Increase Is The Same Proposals That Caused It"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Senate Democrats have an ironic sense of timing. Mere days after a report raised the long-term costs of the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit by $5 trillion, due in part to Democrats\u2019 Inflation Reduction Act, Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and his colleagues released a that would double down on the IRA\u2019s failed policies. It\u2019s the latest illustration of how the party\u2019s \u201caffordability\u201d agenda is anything but for taxpayers.<\/p>\n

Read more At This Point, It Will Take A Political Revolution To Save Britain<\/a><\/p>\n

Major Changes to Part D<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Most of the attention on the IRA has focused on provisions requiring federal officials to \u201cnegotiate\u201d drug prices. These \u201cnegotiations\u201d amount to take-it-or-leave-it propositions, and the arbitrary benchmarks that Congress mandated as part of that process have already discouraged companies from investing in potential new cures.<\/p>\n

But the IRA also dramatically restructured the Part D benefit. Among other changes, it eliminated cost-sharing for beneficiaries above a catastrophic spending cap, lowered the effective threshold for by about half, and expanded a low-income subsidy program under which beneficiaries face little to no cost-sharing. All these factors raise drug consumption, including consumption of costly brand-name drugs, and overall spending.<\/p>\n

Budget Experts Note Skyrocketing Costs<\/strong><\/h2>\n

As a result, despite the IRA\u2019s price controls, federal Part D spending has soared since its main provisions took effect. In November, the Congressional Budget Office noted that such spending \u201cwill increase much more in 2026,\u201d which, if continued \u201cover the next decade[,] would be about $500 billion more than CBO previously projected.\u201d<\/p>\n

CBO cited tariffs and general trends to explain some of the higher spending. But other factors stem directly from the IRA: \u201cCBO, CMS [the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services], and private insurers may have underestimated the cost to insurers of the reduced cost-sharing arrangements\u201d due to the IRA\u2019s caps on out-of-pocket spending. Referencing a Part D \u201cstabilization\u201d \u2014 read: bailout \u2014 program the Biden administration launched in 2024, the budget gnomes opined that \u201cif insurers expect administrative actions to shield enrollees from the full impact of increased premiums, they may be less constrained in submitting bids with higher costs.\u201d<\/p>\n

In March, the annual Medicare Payment Advisory Commission reinforced CBO\u2019s conclusions. The commission interviewed actuaries, one of whom said the IRA\u2019s new, richer benefits are \u201clikely having a bigger impact than plans expected.\u201d MedPAC\u2019s analysis found that, but for $40 billion in federal \u201cstabilization\u201d spending, premiums for standalone Part D plans would have more than doubled from 2024 to 2026. Put simply, Democrats\u2019 IRA restructuring encouraged additional drug consumption, sending insurer costs and federal spending soaring.<\/p>\n

Read more Roberts Court\u2019s Latest Term Replete With Legal Cowardice The Nation Can\u2019t Afford<\/a><\/p>\n

Earlier this month, the Medicare trustees raised the 75-year cost of the Part D benefit by nearly 50 percent, from $10.7 trillion in last year\u2019s report to $15.7 trillion this year. Actuaries attributed the change primarily to \u201cincreases in the utilization of GLP-1 and expensive specialty drugs in 2025,\u201d and \u201chigher cost trends,\u201d consistent with the effects of the IRA\u2019s structural changes.<\/p>\n

Doubling Down on Failure<\/strong><\/h2>\n

At a time when multiple budget analysts have highlighted an explosion in Medicare spending due to the IRA, what did Wyden\u2019s white paper propose? More of the same. More, quicker, and more onerous drug price controls, including price controls from overseas, which would import British-style cost-effectiveness rationing to the United States.<\/p>\n

Wyden also endorsed more subsidies \u2014 proposals to lower seniors\u2019 out-of-pocket costs further, \u201cexpand[] eligibility for Part D Low-Income Subsidies,\u201d and \u201ccontain[] Part D premiums.\u201d All of these proposals will raise government spending, likely well in excess of any \u201csavings\u201d created by expanding price controls. His paper also proposed extending an IRA provision that effectively sees federal taxpayers, as opposed to beneficiaries, funding a greater percentage of Part D plan premiums.<\/p>\n

Earlier this spring, a separate Wyden conceded Obamacare\u2019s failures, which he promised to fix with yet more regulations and spending. His latest proposal, which would double down on IRA policies that have caused a Medicare spending explosion, brings to mind the definition of insanity as doing the same thing while expecting different results.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But perhaps the most succinct judgment on this \u201caffordability\u201d agenda came from Margaret Thatcher 50 years ago: \u201cSocialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess. They always run out of other people\u2019s money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Democrat And Media Lies About Pro-Life Laws Aren\u2019t Just False \u2014 They\u2019re Deadly<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Multiple budget analysts have highlighted an explosion in Medicare spending, so what did Wyden\u2019s white paper propose? More of the same.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":638,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[250],"tags":[1203,2255,1394,2256,254,1913,2257,16,258,2258,2259,2260,2261,1005],"class_list":["post-639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-care","tag-affordability","tag-cbo","tag-congressional-budget-office","tag-glp-1","tag-health-care","tag-health-insurance","tag-inflation-reduction-act","tag-joe-biden","tag-medicare","tag-medicare-part-d","tag-prescription-drug-prices","tag-prescription-drugs","tag-ron-wyden","tag-taxpayers"],"yoast_head":"\nDemocrats’ ‘Fix’ For A $5 Trillion Medicare Spending Increase Is The Same Proposals That Caused It - Property Transition Media<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/propertytransitionmedia.com\/?p=639\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Democrats’ ‘Fix’ For A $5 Trillion Medicare Spending Increase Is The Same Proposals That Caused It - Property Transition Media\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Multiple budget analysts have highlighted an explosion in Medicare spending, so what did Wyden\u2019s white paper propose? 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