Medicare changes could raise drug costs for S.D. seniors
Editor’s note: The Trump administration’s decision to end Part D premium stabilization after 2026 could leave seniors facing higher premiums. Democratic congressional candidate Nikki Gronli sent this press release.
Nikki Gronli, Democratic candidate for South Dakota's lone U.S. House seat, is warning that seniors could face higher Medicare prescription drug plan premiums next year as the Trump administration ends a Medicare Part D premium stabilization program after 2026.
The temporary program was created to help limit premium increases for Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage while major improvements to Medicare were implemented. According to federal officials, the subsidies will end beginning in 2027, with many beneficiaries expected to see higher prescription costs and increased monthly premiums.
"South Dakota seniors worked their entire lives and paid into Medicare with the expectation that it would be there when they need it," Gronli said. "At a time when families are already struggling with the cost of groceries, housing, utilities, and health care, Washington should be working to make prescription drugs more affordable. This is another tone-deaf decision by the administration.”
Gronli said Congress should focus on protecting Medicare and continuing efforts to lower prescription drug and health care costs. Nearly one in five South Dakotans is age 65 or older, and many rely on Medicare to afford lifesaving medications.
"South Dakota seniors shouldn't have to spend every year worrying whether they can afford the medications that keep them alive and healthy," Gronli said. "Congress should be working to lower health care costs, not making them more unpredictable."
Nikki Gronli, from rural Dell Rapids, is the Democratic candidate for Congress in South Dakota. She was the state director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development in South Dakota during the Biden administration and the former vice chair of the South Dakota Democratic Party.
Photo: public domain, wikimedia commons
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