Medicare Part D Plans Turn to Coinsurance, Higher Deductibles Amid IRA Changes

Jun 27
Jun 27, 2025

Facing higher costs and risk due to provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that went into effect this year, Medicare Part D plans have significantly increased their use of coinsurance and raised deductibles, according to a white paper released on June 19 from the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics.

While a small percentage of people with high drug spending have benefited from the IRA changes, Erin Trish, Ph.D., the study’s lead author and co-director of the USC Schaeffer Center, tells AIS Health that the vast majority of Medicare beneficiaries will see their out-of-pocket (OOP) medication expenses increase as insurers adjust their plan designs. Trish adds that she expected Part D plans to adapt to the IRA, but she adds that she was “surprised by how striking and rapid the change is occurring.”
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Tim Casey

Tim has been a reporter and editor for newspapers, websites and magazines for more than 20 years, including 10 years covering health care business topics. He has a deep knowledge of the managed care industry and pharmacy benefit management. He also has experience covering medical conferences and clinical and legislative health care issues. In 2014, the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing selected Tim as one of 15 journalists to participate in a national symposium on the Affordable Care Act. Tim has a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Notre Dame and an M.B.A. from Georgetown University.