POTUS, Democrats Celebrate Cost-Cutting Legislation Georgia GOP Opposed Unanimously

As President Biden and Democrats celebrate the Inflation Reduction Act becoming law, Georgians are reading and hearing about how the transformational package will cut costs and improve lives. All eight of Georgia’s congressional Republicans opposed this legislation, voting against saving families money on prescription drugs, premiums, co-pays, out-of-pocket costs, and more. GOP Rep. Buddy Carter even recently admitted that Republicans want to reverse those provisions, saying: “I’ve been asking my colleagues, how are we going to undo that when we get into the majority?”

Each of Georgia’s House Republicans voted against capping prescription drug costs for hundreds of thousands of Georgia Medicare beneficiaries at $2,000 a year, reducing health insurance premiums for hundreds of thousands of Georgians by about $600 per year on average while expanding coverage to about 142,000 Georgians, and capping insulin co-payments for the tens of thousands of Georgia Medicare beneficiaries that use insulin.

How the Inflation Reduction Act benefits Georgians:

CUTTING PRESCRIPTION DRUG COSTS:

• Will cap 46,000 Georgian seniors’ out-of-pocket costs at $2,000 and, for the first time, all 1.3 million Georgians with Medicare Part D will have the peace of mind of knowing their pharmacy costs are capped.
• Will cap Georgia Medicare beneficiaries’ insulin copays at $35 per month, thanks to legislation championed by Reverend Raphael Warnock. 106,000 Georgian Medicare beneficiaries used insulin in 2020.
• Allows Medicare to negotiate some high-cost prescription drug prices, which will bring down the out-of-pocket costs of these drugs for Georgia Medicare beneficiaries. 
• Requires companies to pay Medicare a rebate if they increase drug prices faster than inflation, which will further reduce out-of-pocket costs for Georgia Medicare beneficiaries.

LOCKING IN LOWER HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUMS AND EXPANDING COVERAGE:

• Means roughly 142,000 more Georgians will have health insurance next year. 
• Continues savings of about $600 on average annually for 701,000 Georgians with Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace coverage.

LOWER ENERGY COSTS: 

• Reduces costs with rebates covering 50-100% of the cost of installing new electric appliances, including super-efficient heat pumps, water heaters, clothes dryers, stoves, and ovens, which millions of low- and moderate-income households in Georgia are eligible for. 
• Creates grants to help state and local governments adopt the latest building energy codes, which would save the average new homeowner in Georgia 15.1% on their utility bills—$327 annually.

GOOD-PAYING JOBS: 

• Expands clean energy job opportunities, bringing an estimated $180 million of investment in large-scale clean power generation and storage to Georgia between now and 2030. 
• Helps create jobs across solar, wind, storage, and other clean energy industries with tax credits that include bonuses for businesses that pay a prevailing wage, so that Georgia workers earn a good paycheck.

DOMESTIC MANUFACTURING: 

• Bolsters domestic manufacturers, who employ 394,600 workers in Georgia, by helping us make the technologies of the future at home – supporting local economies and strengthening supply chains. 

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