The Changes For 2025
Medicare drug pricing has changed in 2025b due to the Inflation Reduction Act that the President signed into law last year. It was supposed to reduce costs for Medicare recipients when buying their medications. However, it doesn’t take effect until 2026. Then only 10 medications are affected, and most Americans will continue to pay high priced for their medications. The maximum of-of-pocket has been reduced from $8,000 in 2024 to $2,000 in 2025. What happened is not surprising, big pharma raised the pricing on expensive medications and took some off the market entirely.
What disturbs me the most is how the pharmaceutical manufacturers are getting away with it. Let me explain.
These pharmaceutical manufacturers pay no federal income tax (they write off all R & D costs against income as allowed by the IRS.) Yet these same pharmaceutical companies sell the same medications all over the world for less than they charge here in America.

Congress is in the hands of Big Pharma because all the laws are for these companies and none for Americans. That is a disgrace and there is only one solution.
Congress must be on the same medical insurance that we are on. Multiple things will happen; the plans will change for the better and the drug manufacturers’ pricing will come down. This is especially true for Medicare recipients who pay the highest prices for medications in the world.
Congress has their own great plan (which we taxpayers pay for). Former Congress people get to keep their insurance and their salaries for life. Another item that needs addressing. Unless these changes happen, we will not fix the problem, and it will continue forever.
The only real solution is to change the law under the Convention of States solution in our Constitution. That solution allows 35 states to hold a Constitutional Convention with the express idea of changing the Constitution to state that Congress shall be on the same plan that all other Americans are on; that their salaries ends when they leave Congress and that they can have a pension that they contribute to at 65 like the rest of America. It also needs to address the drug pricing and to keep it simple, big pharma cannot sell their medications in America for any higher than the average price they sell those same medications anywhere in the world. That levels the playing field for Americans and forced big pharma to cooperate. If they don’t cooperate, they lose their tax deductions for R & D for 5 years. That will put the fear of government intervention into the mix and fix the problems.
The Convention of States needs 35 states as stated above to accomplish this and currently there are 26 states signed onto the agreement.
Seniors, please wake up to what is happening around you and rally around the Convention of States. Nevada has not signed the COS yet and they need to do so because it gets us closer to the goal. Reach out to anyone you know who can help and let’s get this done together.
We are here to help.

The Barend Agency Inc.
Len Barend, Broker
Cell:702-250-2200
Email: len@insurance4unevada.com