WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) today applauded an announcement from the U.S. Department of Health Human Services that savings generated by the Affordable Care Act reached $5.1 billion. In North Carolina, Medicare beneficiaries have saved $149 million because of expanded Medicare prescription drug coverage gap known as the “donut hole.” Between January and October alone, 80,000 North Carolinians saved an average $640 on prescription drugs costs. During the same period, about 905,000 people with original Medicare in North Carolina received one or more preventive services at no cost to them, with 109,000 having received an Annual Wellness Visit.
“The Affordable Care Act is saving people money and strengthening the solvency of Medicare,” said Butterfield. “We passed this law to lower the cost of Medicare and to provide affordable and comprehensive care to all Americans. I am pleased to learn that the Affordable Care Act is doing just that.”
For 2013, the health care law is projected to provide Medicare beneficiaries in the donut hole with greater savings, as discounts rise to 53 percent of the cost of brand name drugs and 21 percent of the cost of generic drugs. Savings on Medicare-covered prescription drugs will gradually increase until 2020, when the donut hole is expected to close.