b'Since orphan drugs are a niche product in the pharmaceutical market, the prices of these medications can be high. To help with this issue, the federal government created the Ination Reduction Act in 2022 termed The Ination Reduction Act. The aim of this law is to curb ination through different sectors, such as government budgeting, and lower prescription drug prices. For those of you who have or will be receiving Medicare in the near future, the Ination Reduction Act can help with covering higher costs for prescription drugs. Here are some benets that come from the IRA: Part D Advances People with Medicare will benefit from lower prescription drug costs and aredesigned prescription drug program. Benets include: Access to recommended adult vaccines without cost-sharing. A yearly cap ($2,000 in 2025) on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs in Medicare. Expansion of the low-income subsidy program (LIS or Extra Help) under Medicare Part D to 150 percent of the federal poverty level starting in 2024.Changes to Part B Changes in the Medicare Part B program will improve access to high quality, affordable biosimilars for people with Medicare. The Inflation Reduction Act makes Medicare stronger for current and future enrollees. It makes healthcare more accessible, equitable, and affordable by lowering what Medicare spends for prescription drugs and limiting increases in prices.Ination Rebates in MedicareThe new law requires drug companies that raise their drug prices faster than the rate of ination to pay a rebate to Medicare This will lead to a stronger Medicare for current and future enrollees and discourage unreasonable price increases by drug companies. An Unintended Consequence While these changes provide for tangible benets to consumers, the IRA may have unintended consequences on drug development. The problem is specically with orphan drugs that might have more than one use.Under the IRA, Medicare will be able to negotiate directly with drug manufacturers to lower the price of some of the costliest single-source brand-name Medicare Part B and Part D drugs. This means people with Medicare will have increased access to innovative, life-saving treatments, and the costs will be lower for both them and Medicare. Thankfully, the lawmakers had the foresight to exempt orphan drugs from this negotiation, so the incentives of the Orphan Drug Act will not be reduced. However, there was a change that specically affects the incentive to research orphan drugs for use in other conditions. Because drugs for autoimmune conditions may be found to be effective in more than one condition, this is signicant.18'