Due to changes the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) made to Medicare's drug benefit, potentially millions of seniors were facing unprecedented premium increases for their Part D plans in 2025. Many beneficiaries would have learned of these increases just weeks before the November election. To avoid this political inconvenience, Biden-Harris administration officials came up with a temporary solution: a massive and stealthy insurance industry bailout.
All of this was avoidable as the ripple effects of the IRA were completely predictable. Economists—including the author of this article—described them two years ago. Despite these warnings, congressional Democrats and the White House officials forged ahead anyway.
