The Inflation Reduction Act Lowers Healthcare Costs!

Through the Inflation Reduction Act, millions of beneficiaries across all 50 states, the United States territories, and the District of Columbia will save money on the following benefits:

• Starting January 1, 2023:
• The cost of a month’s supply of each Part D-covered insulin will be capped at $35, and you won’t have to pay a deductible for insulin
• Adult vaccines, including the shingles vaccine, will be available to
  people with Medicare Part D at no cost to them
• Starting in 2024:
• If you have drug costs high enough to reach the catastrophic coverage phase in your Medicare drug coverage, you won’t have to pay a copayment or coinsurance
• Extra Help's Part D Low-Income Subsidy (LIS) program will expand to certain people with limited resources who earn less than 150% of the federal poverty level
• Starting in 2025:
• There will be a yearly cap of $2,000 on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs in Medicare
• Government reinsurance in the catastrophic phase of Part D will decrease from 80% to 20% for brand-name drugs, biologicals, and biosimilars and will decrease from 80% to 40% for generics

View a timeline showing when these changes happen in the Medicare, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and Health Insurance Marketplace.

Contact the Virginia Insurance Counseling and Assistance Program to learn more about how this legislation will help maximize savings for you.

December is Nationally recognized as HIV/AIDS awareness month. HIV/AIDS can affect anyone regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or age. However, gay and bisexual African American and Hispanic/Latino men may have higher risks of contracting HIV/AIDS. Signs and symptoms of HIV will appear as flu like and if left untreated, can develop into AIDS after 10 years. Most people do not develop AIDS in the U.S. today because of the antiviral treatments available. 

Preventing and detecting HIV/AIDS is imperative so that individuals can get the right treatment. Medicare Part B covers an HIV screening once per year for beneficiaries who are 15 years of age or older and at increased risk. Medicare also covers up to 2 face-to-face, high-intensity behavioral counseling sessions if you are a sexually active adult at increased risk for STIs. Visit medicare.gov to learn more about Medicare covered services.

7 Tactics Criminals Use to Perpetrate Fraud

Virginiasmp | November 28, 2022

Many people believe they are too smart to be taken in by a scam. But they miss the key point: Scammers mostly bypass your intellect and rely on sophisticated psychological and emotional manipulations to get you to say yes. “You don’t have to be a fool to be fooled,” says Robert Cialdini, author of Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. “These people are using tactics and strategies that all of us are susceptible to.” Specifically, he explains, they weaponize universal human instincts such as fear of loss, love and trust in others. Here are some of their techniques. (Read More)