WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) issued the following statement in response to new information released today by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that shows that more than $8.2 million seniors and people with disabilities with Medicare continue to enjoy prescription drugs savings as a result of the Affordable Care Act, saving $11.5 billion since 2010. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, more than 5,000 Mainers saved an average of $784 each on prescription drugs. For more information, click HERE.

“It’s clear from the numbers today that the facts are stacking up in favor of the Affordable Care Act,” Senator King said. “But more importantly, they really stack up in favor of America’s seniors and people across the country with disabilities who, thanks to the law, can continue to get affordable prescription drugs. As these numbers show, the Affordable Care Act is making an enormous difference in the lives of people every single day, and rather than waste time and energy trying to roll it and all of its benefits back, we should work together to make it better.”

The Affordable Care Act makes Medicare prescription drug coverage more affordable by gradually closing the gap – known as the “donut hole” – in coverage where beneficiaries had to pay the full cost of their prescriptions out of pocket, before catastrophic coverage took effect.

This news comes on the heels of continued historic low levels of growth in Medicare spending. According to the Medicare Trustees report released yesterday, the life of the Trust Fund has been extended to 2030, up from its projection of 2017 in 2009, and Part B premiums are expected to stay the same rather than increase for the second year in a row.

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