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East Tennesseans are among the many Americans who have begun to – and will benefit – from a change in the law designed to greatly help cut health care costs, local pharmacists say.

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 went into effect January 1, but because it is a 10-year plan, the changes are being rolled out over time.

The act will put a cap on prescription drug costs, such as insulin, expand coverage for thousands and will help save thousands for Tennesseans and make it easier to

The act will lower health care costs for millions of Americans and will specifically help thousands of American families and seniors.

The act will put a cap on prescription drug costs for hundreds of thousands of Tennessee Medicare beneficiaries and reduce health insurance premiums for hundreds of thousands of Tennesseans.

The act will also expand coverage to more than 50,000 Tennesseans and cap insulin co-payments for the tens of thousands of Tennessee Medicare beneficiaries that use the drug.

Starting this year, the legislation caps the out-of-pocket cost of insulin for Medicare beneficiaries at no more than $35 for a month’s supply which will help more than 80,000 Tennesseans who use insulin.

The Inflation Reduction Act takes on the issue of Americans paying two to three times what citizens of other countries pay for prescription drugs.

The act allows Medicare to negotiate prices for high cost drugs while also providing seniors and people with disabilities who have Medicare coverage with new protections against unaffordable prescription drug bills.

Part D of the act will enhance financial projections for Medicare beneficiaries with conditions such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, and lung disease.

This phase will start in 2024, with the $2,000 out of pocket cap taking effect in 2025.

Congress estimates that more than 37,000 Tennesseans all over the state will benefit where they would otherwise have out of pocket costs above the cap.

Congress also estimates that this act will save billions of dollars for federal government by bringing down the cost of these drugs.

The Act will require companies to pay Medicare a rebate if they increase drug prices faster than inflation, which will achieve billions more in savings for the federal government.

More than 270,000 Tennesseans with Marketplace coverage are saving around $720 annually from the American Rescue Plan subsidies that the Inflation Reduction Act would continue.

With the Inflation Reduction Act more than 50,000 teens in Tennessee will have health insurance in 2023 than without the act.

For more information on the act visit the IRS’ webpage for the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.