Pressured By Medicare, Drug Companies Moderate Price Increases

A doctor holding a stethoscope with his hand

Drug companies raised list prices of 983 prescription drugs by an average of 5.6% in January, lower than inflation and lower than it has raised them in prior years.  A report put out by 46brooklyn Research, a nonprofit drug-price analytics group, said that Pfizer Inc., Novartis AG and Eli Lilly & Company are among the companies that took the price increases.  After several years of taking double digit prices on many drugs, the companies have moderated price increases, in part due to pressure from the government.  “The industry doesn’t want to stick its neck out and make itself a target of politicians, particularly given the lessened support in the Republican Party for the industry compared to 5 or 10 years ago,” David Risinger, an SVB Securities analyst, told the Wall Street Journal.

Social Security Checks Projected To Go Up Up 8.7% In January

According to an estimate by Mary Johnson, a policy analyst for the Senior Citizen League, an advocacy group, Social Security Payments could see the largest increase since 1982 in 2023.  That’s the good news.  The bad news is that inflation is still very high so the 8.7% increase may not mean much as far as purchasing power goes.  For the average retiree who currently gets a check for $1,656, the cost-of-living hike would bring them an additional $144.10 a month in 2023, making the average payment $1,800.

 

Social Security Payments To Leap In The Double Digits Come January

Group of older people showing thumbs up

Social Security payments are expected to rise by more than 10% next January given the soaring inflation that we have experienced.  Mary Johnson, policy analyst at The Senior Citizens League, cautions that this number may be too high, particularly if inflation cools later in the year.  The best case scenario : A huge increase in January while inflation cools to a reasonable level in 2023.

Monterey, CA Social Security Payments Rise Slightly This Year

Social Security participants are likely to get an ever-so-slightly increase this year (+1.3%) according to the numbers looking at the index that cost of living adjustments (COLA) are based on.  Of the 68 million people on Social Security and Disability, the average payment will go up by $19.70 to $1,537.  “It makes people have to take more out of savings,” Mary Johnson, a policy analyst for the Senior Citizen League, said.  That’s due to the fact that many people believe the index doesn’t adequately account for inflation.  “Other people who don’t have savings will go into debt.  Many people may go into poverty,” she said.  Still, the cost of living in Monterey is so high this is not going to make much of a dent for local seniors.