Hoping to spread good news about Medicare into a second day, the Obama administration said Tuesday that seniors and the disabled have saved $11.5 billion on prescriptions since the health care law passed in 2010.
“By making prescription drugs more affordable, we are improving and promoting the best care for people with Medicare,” Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell said.
Officials said Obamacare saves Medicare beneficiaries money by closing the “donut hole,” or gap in coverage in which they had to pay the full cost of prescriptions before catastrophic coverage took effect.
HHS said 8.2 million beneficiaries saved an average of just over $1,400 through donut hole discounts and rebates.
Officials released the data one day after Medicare trustees said the hospital insurance trust fund will not go broke until 2030, or four years later than projected just one year ago and 13 years later than projected in 2009 — the last report before Obamacare became law.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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