Roughly two years ago, the Biden-Harris administration rammed through their so-called “Inflation Reduction Act (IRA),” claiming it would stop inflation and get prices under control for struggling Americans. From the moment they introduced this bill, I was opposed to it for numerous reasons. This was the bill that included $80 billion for the IRS to hire 87,000 new agents (including more armed agents), as well as billions of dollars for pointless Green New Deal projects. Unsurprisingly, the IRA has been a total failure and, in many cases, is actually driving up the cost of living.
One of the biggest failures of the Biden-Harris IRA is the rising cost of Medicare Part D, which is intended to give seniors the option to choose between numerous affordable plans. Just this year alone, more than 100 plans have been removed from the list of options, and these have disproportionately affected low-income seniors. In fact, seniors currently have the fewest options to choose from than at any point in the 20-year history of the program.
Not only has the Biden-Harris IRA stripped seniors of Medicare options, but it has also increased the premiums seniors are paying for both their Part D and Medicare Advantage programs. The monthly premiums historically have been flat or have seen a slight increase; however, this year they are up 21-30%. Even worse, they are expected to increase next year by as much as 50%. This is a shame, and the Biden-Harris administration is flat-out lying to the American people about how they’ve completely failed our seniors.
If you are wondering why these plans have been stripped away and why premiums are going through the roof, you are not alone. It turns out, the Biden-Harris IRA robbed $270 billion from Medicare to pay for ridiculous pet projects which include subsidizing China’s production of electric vehicle batteries and solar panels. Now, America’s seniors are footing the bill for the Biden-Harris administration’s disastrous policy. Instead of admitting their mistake and working to undo this damage, this administration is lying to the American people to hide their failures.
As the November election rapidly approaches, Democrats are campaigning on the IRA as a big success, but the American people know better. Since Biden and Harris took office, we’ve seen the cost for nearly everything increase, and the American people simply cannot afford another four years of this. If you’re as sick as I am of the Biden-Harris administration’s America-last agenda, I encourage you to show up in force on Election Day and make your voice heard. That’s the only way we can fix this.
Jerry Carl represents Alabama’s First Congressional District. He lives in Mobile with his wife Tina.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to Commentary@1819News.com.
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