The government giveth and the government taketh away

Old-timers might get hearing coverage, but their premiums will be gouging them.  So, IF it passes, some seniors will MAYBE break even by getting hearing aids, but those who don't need aids (or have alzheimer's) will be paying for it.

Seniors on Medicare will have to pay more than $20 more per month extra in premiums next year, a large increase that officials in part attributed to possible coverage of a pricey and controversial new Alzheimer's drug.

  The Hill

And of course, it's the pharmaceutical companies who get the benefits.

About half of that increase is due to contingency planning to make sure the program has enough money to pay for an expensive new Alzheimer's drug, if Medicare decides to cover it, an official at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said.

Could it be worse? Yes. And it is.

That drug, called Aduhelm and made by the company Biogen, has drawn controversy both for its price, at $56,000 per year, and because the Food and Drug Administration approved it despite doubts from experts about its effectiveness.

But wait. Seniors are getting a cost-of-living increase. It just won't be as large as it would have been.

Administration officials emphasized Friday that most people on Medicare will also be getting a large cost of living increase in their Social Security payments next year, which they said would more than offset the rise in Medicare costs for many seniors.

"Most". "Large".

"Skyrocketing drug prices not only make it harder for seniors to afford the lifesaving drugs they need, but also drive up their health care premiums for doctor’s visits and outpatient care," House Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) said in response to the announcement.

"This double financial whammy simply cannot continue, and that’s why Congress must pass the bicameral Medicare prescription drug agreement that was included in the Build Back Better Act last week."

Yeah? Allowing Medicare to negotiate for reasonable prices was taken out, wasn't it?

In early budget negotiations, it looked as if the Democrats were finally going to take on Big Pharma over spiraling drug prices. Then last week, drug pricing fell out of the bill altogether and it looked as if the drug companies had won again. Now there is a compromise that looks modest but could have real bite.

The drug price regulation Congress is now considering would achieve three main goals. It would limit the amount that Medicare patients can be asked to pay for drugs out-of-pocket. It would restrict how much drugmakers can increase their prices each year. And, for the first time, it would allow Medicare to negotiate directly with drugmakers on prices for their medications.

The provision on price negotiation was the one most substantially changed in the last week: It would apply to fewer drugs, require smaller discounts, and, most critically, shield new drugs from negotiations.

  NYT

So, I wonder which drugs they can negotiate on.

The policy isn’t simply smaller than the original. If enacted, it will save the federal government less money than the legislation passed by the House two years ago. But it is also less likely to hinder the development of new treatments and cures, the experts said.

Great. New drugs only the rich can afford.

The bill text could, of course, change or fail to become law.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.