Keeping Georgians Informed – October 7 – 13 – Senator Reverend Ralph Warnock (GA)
From October 9
WATCH: Senator Reverend Warnock Discusses Faith, Family, and Service in New Episode of PBS’ “Breaking Bread with Alexander”
Washington, D.C. – In a recently-aired episode of PBS’ Breaking Bread with Alexander, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) joined journalist and host Alexander Heffner in his hometown of Savannah to discuss how his family, faith, and childhood in Coastal Georgia shaped his life and continues to inform his service for all Georgians in the United States Senate. The interview, which originally aired on October 2, follows Senator Warnock and Alexander as they converse while strolling along “Raphael Warnock Way” a street named honoring the Senator just outside of his childhood home, and then as they enjoy a meal of chicken and waffles at famous Savannah restaurant Collins Quarter.
During the episode, the Senator dived into his approach to delivering for Georgians in Washington and how he works to center people in federal policymaking, discussing the power of bipartisanship to create consensus and solve problems, how being a father shapes his leadership, and why he continues to fight on issues like health care that are top of mind to many Georgians.
Watch the new episode HERE.
Read key excerpts from the interview below:
On bipartisanship
Senator Reverend Warnock (SRW): “I’m proud of the fact that I came to the Senate in the 117th Congress. Out of 100 senators, it was easy for me to remember where I was on the pecking order, I was number 100, the most junior senator in the Senate. Yet I managed to be listed, according to bills and work that I had done, as the 18th (now 14th) most bipartisan senator in the Senate. I’m proud of that because I won in the special election, which means Republicans knew I was going to be up again in two years for reelection and yet, I was able to get enough of them to work with me to be listed as the 18th most bipartisan senator in the Senate.
“I think that is what our country needs, I am who I am, I believe what I believe, there are some things I’m not going to compromise on in terms of the core of my values and what I think are important – human dignity, that everybody ought to have a path to prosperity, that ours is a country that ought to embrace all of our children. And that’s my North Star, but you’ll find there are a whole range of things we can work on together.”
On his family and ministry
SRW: “My dad was the pastor of a small church not far from here on Gwinnett Street, but he was also a junk man. He literally took care of our family by loading old junk cars that other folk had thrown away, stacking them one on top of the other, taking them down to what was then Chattem Steel, and that’s how he took care of his family.
“On Sunday mornings, the man who spent all week lifting broken cars, lifted broken people with his message of hope, the depth of his faith, his grit and determination of a Black man born in 1917, a World War II veteran who in one instance had to give up his seat on a bus while wearing his soldiers uniform to a young teenager.
“His faith inspires me.
“My mother grew up in Waycross, Georgia. She grew up in a slightly different time in the 1950s, as a teenager picking somebody else’s Tobacco, picking somebody else’s cotton.
“The octogenarian hands that used to pick somebody else’s Tobacco, somebody else’s cotton, could pick her son to be a United States Senator. Only in America is my story possible.”
On health care
SRW: “I’m someone who was shaped and inspired by the civil rights and human rights tradition. In 2014, I stood up saying we need to expand Medicaid in Georgia, as part of the Affordable Care Act. We have 600,000 Georgians in the coverage gap, and who are these people? They are mostly the working poor.
“Dr. King said ‘Of all the injustices, inequality in healthcare is the most shocking and the most inhumane’. I was part of a demonstration in front of the Governor’s office here in Georgia and I was arrested fighting for Medicaid expansion. I thought it was a small price to pay when I considered that here we had an opportunity to give poor people, working-class people access to dignity, access basic health care, preventative care, that would literally save lives. And the state leaders were digging in their heels for political purposes. And so I got arrested in the state capital in Georgia, I’ve gotten arrested in the U.S. capital, also fighting for health care, fighting to protect SNAP benefits. And I’ll continue to ring the bell on this issue, it’s so very important.”
Alexander Heffner: “Do we need more civil disobedience in American life today?”
SRW: “I think activism, and speaking, and demonstrations are part of the democratic process. We need people shaking it up on the outside, as long as they are non-violent and dignified in their approach, and we need people shaking it up on the inside. I’ve had my experience with both, I often say that now I’ve translated my protest into public policy, my agitation into legislation, but I will do anything within reason, that is consistent with my values if it will get people health care.”
Senators Reverend Warnock, Casey Urge Administration to Ensure Seniors Can Benefit from New Prescription Drug Cost Cap
The senators urged the Biden Administration to provide more information to seniors about out-of-pocket prescription drug cost cap that goes into effect January 2025
The $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket prescription drugs for Medicare recipients to save seniors $1.5 billion in copays and other expenses
Senator Reverend Warnock championed the Inflation Reduction Act law lowering out-of-pocket drug costs, giving Medicare the power to negotiate and lower prescription drugs
Senators Reverend Warnock, Casey also recently reintroduced the Capping Prescription Costs Act to lower out-of-pocket drug costs for families – MORE HERE
Senators Reverend Warnock, Casey: “The new cap will allow nearly 19 million Medicare beneficiaries to reduce their spending on prescription drugs. We must do more to ensure that older adults understand these new options and benefits”
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Bob Casey (D-PA) are urging the Biden Administration to better inform seniors of the steps they may need to take to benefit from the impending cap on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs.
In an October 3 letter to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra, the Senators noted that in January 2025, as a result of the landmark Inflation Reduction Act law, a $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket drug costs for Medicare Part D beneficiaries will go into effect and reduce drug costs for nearly 19 million Americans. The Senators urged HHS to increase outreach efforts to ensure that seniors understand how to guarantee their prescription drugs count towards the out-of-pocket cap so they don’t end up paying more than expected.
“The new cap will allow nearly 19 million Medicare beneficiaries to reduce their spending on prescription drugs. We must do more to ensure that older adults understand these new options and benefits. A lack of information and communication could leave older adults paying more and missing out on benefits to which they are entitled,” wrote the Senators.
Senators Reverend Warnock and Casey have long led efforts in the Senate to lower prescription drug costs. In 2022, they fought to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which put in place the $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for Medicare Part D beneficiaries. The law also capped the cost of insulin at $35 a month for Medicare recipients and gave Medicare the power to negotiate prescription drug prices for the first time. Negotiations began last year on the first set of ten drugs: Eliquis, Jardiance, Xarelto, Januvia, Farxiga, Entresto, Enbrel, Imbruvica, Stelara, and NovoLog/Fiasp. In August, the Biden Administration announced the new, lower negotiated prices for each of these first ten drugs. Early next year, the Administration will announce the next set of 15 drugs that will be subject to price negotiations. Senators Warnock and Casey also recently introduced the Capping Prescription Costs Act which would cap annual out-of-pocket prescription drug costs at $2,000 for individuals and $4,000 for families with private insurance.
“The IRA directly lowers prescription drug costs for millions of Americans, and we must do everything we can provide older adults with the resources to understand these benefits. This is especially important with Open Enrollment beginning on October 15, a key opportunity for beneficiaries to ensure their health plans meet their needs. The Biden-Harris Administration has worked tirelessly to pass and implement the IRA, and we look forward to continuing those efforts as provisions of the law take effect, making prescription drugs costs more affordable,” concluded the senators.
The full letter can be found HERE and the text is below:
Dear Secretary Becerra:
Thank you for your ongoing commitment to lowering the cost of health care across the Nation. In just a few months, as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a $2,000 cap on out-of pocket prescription drug costs will go into effect. The new cap will allow nearly 19 million Medicare beneficiaries to reduce their spending on prescription drugs. We must do more to ensure that older adults understand their new options and benefits. A lack of information and communication could leave older adults paying more and missing out on benefits to which they are entitled. As this and other prescription drug pricing provisions from the IRA take effect, we urge the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to increase outreach efforts to older adults to ensure they are aware of how to benefit from the law
When Congress passed the IRA, we fought to ensure the legislation included significant steps to improve prescription drug affordability by allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, capping out of pocket costs for Medicare beneficiaries, lowering insulin costs, and decreasing prescription drug costs for low-income Medicare beneficiaries. Last year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) began to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies to lower the price of prescription drugs and in August, CMS announced the negotiated maximum fair prices for the first 10 drugs under the IRA’s negotiation program. Medicare enrollees taking these 10 drugs paid a total of $3.4 billion in out-of-pocket costs in 2022. Had the IRA been in effect in 2023, Medicare would have saved $6 billion, and beneficiaries would have saved $1.5 billion in copays and other expenses. Additional drugs will be negotiated each year under this program, largely expanding the affordability of prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries.
Starting in 2023, cost-sharing was eliminated for vaccines covered by Medicare Part D. According to HHS, 10.3 million Medicare Part D enrollees received a recommended vaccine free of charge, which saved beneficiaries more than $400 million in out-of-pocket costs. This includes 3.9 million older adults who received a shingles vaccine, which is an increase of about 42 percent from 2021.
In January 2024, the IRA also capped out of pocket costs for insulin at $35 per month for Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Part B and Part D. Had the IRA been in effect in 2020, 1.5 million Medicare beneficiaries would have benefited, saving about $734 million in Part D and $27 million in Part B, or about $500 in average annual savings per beneficiary. Thanks to pressure from the IRA, three of the largest U.S. insulin manufacturers have capped out-of-pocket insulin costs for even more patients.
In January 2025, Medicare Part D enrollees will benefit from a $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket drug costs. This redesign will reduce beneficiary out-of-pocket spending by about $7.4 billion each year among more than 18.7 million enrollees in 2025. This will save nearly $400 per person in out of pocket costs each year.
CMS has provided some information about the upcoming implementation of the out-of-pocket cap, with detailed guidance regarding the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan to Part D plan sponsors and a fact sheet for consumers and Medicare beneficiaries. But CMS must do more to inform older adults about the details of the $2,000 out of pocket cap to ensure they are able to realize its maximum benefits. For example, Medicare beneficiaries need information about how to guarantee their prescription drugs count towards the out-of-pocket cap and how to choose the best Part D plan for their individual needs. Without this critical information, beneficiaries may end up paying more than expected.
The IRA directly lowers prescription drug costs for millions of Americans, and we must do everything we can provide older adults with the resources to understand these benefits. This is especially important with Open Enrollment beginning on October 15, a key opportunity for beneficiaries to ensure their health plans meet their needs. The Biden-Harris Administration has worked tirelessly to pass and implement the IRA, and we look forward to continuing those efforts as provisions of the law take effect, making prescription drugs costs more affordable.
