Today, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (FL14) voted for the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a historic investment that will lower costs, create good-paying jobs, and empower us to address the climate emergency.

“Today, I was proud to take historic action to lower drug costs for Floridians, taking on Big Pharma’s egregious price gouging and instituting an out-of-pocket cap for seniors. We’re also delivering the largest climate and clean energy investment in history, paving the way for reduced pollution, cleaner air, and cost-saving electric vehicles and technologies. All while making a historic down payment on deficit reduction of approximately $300 billion to fight inflation,” said Castor.

For the first time, Medicare will be able to negotiate lower drug prices for their beneficiaries (seniors and people with disabilities), lowering costs for consumers. The IRA caps Medicare Part D out-of-pocket spending at $2,000 per person per year and caps the rate of premium increases. The IRA requires drug manufacturers to pay a rebate to Medicare if the costs of their drugs rises faster than inflation. Finally, the bill ensures that recommended vaccines are available with no co-pays, insulin is capped at $35/month, and premium assistance is expanded for low-income beneficiaries.

The IRA will extend the critical American Rescue Plan ACA subsidies for another 3 years, through the end of 2025. This will prevent 3 million Americans from losing their health coverage, and prevent more than 10 million Americans from reduced or lost premium tax credits by the end of 2022.  

“In the state of Florida, the American Rescue Plan helped a total of 1.13 million Floridians enroll for the first time in a subsidized marketplace, including 41,000 people right here in Florida’s 14^th District,” Castor continued. “Florida had a record 2.7 million individuals enroll in the marketplace in 2022!”

The Inflation Reduction Act will prevent an estimated 543,000 Floridians from becoming uninsured, an estimated 309,000 Floridians from completely losing their subsidies, and 1.8 million Floridians from having reduced subsidies in 2023.

“This is also a Big Climate Deal. The Inflation Reduction Act is by far the largest and most consequential legislation we've passed to address the costly climate crisis. It will usher in an era of clean energy innovation that will lower costs, create family-sustaining jobs, and make our communities more resilient. It will reduce our dependence on expensive fossil fuels and clean up our air, as we reduce pollution and move closer to net zero. And it will empower American workers to lead the global clean energy economy, as we produce more of our energy here in America, bolster our energy independence, and strengthen our domestic manufacturing supply chain.”

This legislation will bring down costs for working Floridians while building a cleaner economic future across the country, taking action to:

·         Lower prescription drug prices: empowering Medicare to negotiate the price of prescription drugs, preventing excessive price hikes and capping seniors’ out-of-pocket drug costs at $2,000.

·         Lower health care costs: reducing Floridians’ premium costs by extending ACA subsidies for three more years, locking in average annual savings of $590 per person.

·         Lower energy costs: saving Florida families an average of $1000 per year on their energy bills.

·         Lower the deficit and help fight inflation: making an historic down payment on deficit reduction of approximately $300 billion. 

·         Deliver America’s largest-ever climate investment: supporting domestic energy production, creating nine million good-paying union jobs and reducing carbon pollution by roughly 40 percent this decade.

The Inflation Reduction Act also honors Democrats’ promise: no new taxes on families making $400,000 or less and no new taxes on small businesses.  This legislation is fully paid-for by ensuring that large corporations and the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share.