Creative Counting Can’t Fix The Inflation Reduction Act’s Flaws

Creative Counting Can’t Fix The Inflation Reduction Act’s Flaws

Just three days before President Biden left office, his appointees tried to tie incoming Trump staffers’ hands on a health policy decision that affects millions of Americans and tens of billions in federal spending.

On January 17, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced a new list of 15 drugs under Medicare Part D that will be subjected to price controls under the Inflation Reduction Act on January 1, 2027. The list was announced this month despite the IRA not requiring, under the statute, such a decision until February 1st.

And here’s the kicker: while the IRA, signed into law in August 2022, required CMS to pick 15 medicines, Biden’s CMS actually selected 19 distinct medications.

Read the blog post.