WASHINGTON — A key aspect of the Democrat-passed law to lower drug prices is significantly more expensive to the government than expected, according to nonpartisan budget experts in Congress.
The redesign of the Medicare Part D drug benefit will cost $10 billion to $20 billion more next year than the Congressional Budget Office initially projected. That office estimates that a separate recently announced program to pay insurers to lower drug premiums will cost $5 billion.
Republicans pounced on the news, saying the drug pricing measures in the Inflation Reduction Act caused a spike in the cost of prescription drug coverage.
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