{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/rhode-island-seniors-continue-benefitting-from-health-care-law", "Rhode Island Seniors Continue Benefitting from Health Care Law", "2013-12-17", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "RI", "Sheldon Whitehouse", "W000802", "www.whitehouse.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.17.13\n\t\t\t Rhode Island Seniors Continue Benefitting from Health Care Law \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t Medicare Beneficiaries Saving on Prescription Drugs and Preventive Services\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t Washington, DC \u2013 As the holiday season nears, thousands of Rhode Island seniors will have a little extra money thanks to prescription drug savings made possible by the Affordable Care Act.\u00a0 Through October of this year 10,600 Medicare recipients in Rhode Island saved over $7 million on prescription drugs, for an average savings of $677 per person.\r\nPrior to the passage of the Affordable Care Act, thousands of Rhode Island seniors fell into the so-called Medicare \u201cdoughnut hole\u201d and were forced to pay the full cost of their prescription drugs. \u00a0In 2010, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse successfully fought to eliminate the doughnut hole as part of the Affordable Care Act, enabling the savings they are seeing today.\r\nAdditionally, new data released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services today shows that, thanks to the Affordable Care Act, in the first 11 months of 2013 alone, an estimated 25.4 million people with traditional Medicare \u2013 including 87,099 in Rhode Island \u2013 received at least one free preventive service at no out-of-pocket cost, such as an annual wellness visit or mammogram.\r\n\u201cSeniors who were hurt by the doughnut hole for years are now saving hundreds of dollars on their prescription drugs while also gaining access to free preventive services,\u201d said Senator Whitehouse.\u00a0 \u201cThese examples are further proof that the Affordable Care Act is making a real difference for Rhode Islanders.\u201d\r\nThe doughnut hole used to expose seniors to the full cost of prescription drugs after they and their plan spent a certain amount of money ($2,970) for covered drugs in a year, but before they hit catastrophic coverage ($4,750).\u00a0 The Affordable Care Act has been closing the doughnut hole in phases since it was enacted in 2010.\r\nClick here to see how many people benefitted from these savings in your zip code last year.\r\nBecause of the Affordable Care Act, in 2011 and 2012 seniors in the doughnut hole received a 50% discount from the drug manufacturers on all brand name drugs. \u00a0Starting this year, the federal government is subsidizing an additional 2.5% of brand-name drug costs for seniors in the doughnut hole. These subsidies will increase each year until the coverage gap is closed in 2020.\r\n###\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/rhode-island-seniors-continue-benefitting-from-health-care-law"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.0188139751553535, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}