Press Releases

On Anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid, Warner and Kaine Introduce Bill to Repeal Health Care Provisions in Republican "Big Ugly Bill"

Jul 30 2025

WASHINGTON – Today, on the 60th anniversary of the Medicare and Medicaid programs, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, and Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, (both D-VA) introduced legislation to repeal the health care provisions in President Donald Trump and Republicans’ ‘Big, Ugly Bill’ and permanently extend the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced tax credits, which expire at the end of the year. The law, which Warner and Kaine strongly opposed, will result in more than 15 million people losing their health insurance under Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act and many rural hospitals losing federal funding from Medicaid, putting them at risk of closure. 

“In the 60 years since President Johnson signed the law that established Medicare and Medicaid, millions of Americans have been able to access the health care they need. Sadly, instead of strengthening these programs, President Trump and Republicans’ ‘Big, Ugly Bill’ will do the opposite and kick people off their health insurance under Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act,” said the senators. “We will all be better off if more people can access health insurance, and that’s why we’re proud to join our colleagues in introducing legislation to repeal the health care changes in the disastrous Republican law and extend the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced tax credits so Virginians can continue to access care.”

The Republican law makes massive cuts to health care, nutrition assistance, and other critical programs that Virginians rely on in order to cut taxes for the ultra-wealthy. While the bill was being considered in the Senate, Warner and Kaine introduced a series of amendments in an attempt to improve the legislation, but Republicans blocked them.

78,000 Virginians will lose access to some benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Virginia will be required to contribute an estimated $263 million annually in state cost-share for benefits, which have always been fully federally funded. The law jeopardizes clean energy jobs in Virginia by phasing out clean energy and energy efficiency tax credits and incentives that were passed in the Inflation Reduction Act. The law gives the top 0.1% a $250,000 tax cut and makes it harder for students to access student loans. The legislation also includes $85 million to move the Space Shuttle Discovery from the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia to Houston, Texas; the full cost to move the space shuttle is estimated to be $300-$400 million.

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Warner & Kaine Celebrate Inflation Reduction Act's $2,000 per Year Cap on Out-of-Pocket Prescription Drug Costs for Americans with Medicare

Dec 30 2024

WASHINGTON –  Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) celebrated a provision of the Inflation Reduction Act that will go into effect on January 1, 2025 to cap out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs at $2,000 per year for Americans with Medicare Part D. The cap will apply to individuals’ combined, total costs for covered drugs—regardless of how many medications they need. Some estimates have shown that Virginians on Medicare will save an average of $440.62 on out-of-pocket costs on prescription drugs thanks to this cap.

“The Inflation Reduction Act has already made a huge difference in the lives of Virginians. It’s capped the price of insulin at $35 per month for seniors, lowered health care and energy costs, brought millions of dollars in investment to Virginia, and created manufacturing jobs—all while lowering the deficit,” said the senators. “We’re thrilled that beginning in 2025, Americans on Medicare will have a $2,000 per year out-of-pocket cap on prescription drugs. Many seniors currently pay thousands of dollars a year for medications they need, so this provision is crucial to saving them money. We will keep working to build on this progress and ensure that Virginia harnesses all the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act.”

In 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is also expected to announce 15 more Medicare Part D drugs for negotiation. The IRA allowed CMS to negotiate the price of prescription drugs for the first time—a move Warner and Kaine had long pushed for. This year, the Biden Administration announced negotiated prices for the first 10 drugs for patients covered by Medicare Part D. The negotiated prices for the first 10 drugs, which will go into effect in 2026, will save $1.5 billion for Americans with Medicare Part D and $6 billion in the federal budget in the first year of implementation.  

Many other provisions from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which the senators voted to pass in 2022, have already gone into effect to lower health care costs and expand clean energy manufacturing in Virginia and across the country.

Health Care:

  • Black lung benefits: The law permanently extended the black lung excise tax at a higher rate, providing more certainty for miners, miner retirees, and their families who rely on the fund to access benefits. In Virginia, thousands of miners and their families have received benefits through the trust fund since it was established, including approximately 2,600 Virginians in 2021.
  • $35 cap on the cost of insulin: Out-of-pocket costs for insulin—regardless of how much a patient needs—are capped at $35 per month under Medicare. Thanks to the IRA, 36,461 Virginians on Medicare who use insulin now pay no more than $35 per month. Click here to learn how seniors like Mrs. Marguerite Bailey Young of Fredericksburg, who was Warner’s guest to the 2023 State of the Union, are benefiting from the $35 cap.
  • Free vaccines for Medicare recipients: People with Medicare no longer have to pay to receive most vaccines under Medicare Part D, which includes vaccines for shingles, HPV, MMR, diphtheria, and pertussis. In 2023, over 230,000 seniors in Virginia received a recommended vaccine free of cost.
  • Extension of ACA subsidies: During the pandemic, Congress enhanced subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to help lower health care premiums for millions of Americans. The IRA extended these enhanced subsidies through 2025 to help make Virginians’ health insurance more affordable. 350,008 Virginians with ACA coverage are receiving assistance to lower the cost of their premium. In 2022, Virginians saved an average of $508 per month on their health insurance premium.
  • Lower Premiums for More Than 500,000 Virginians: There are additional provisions that went into effect to limit annual premium increases for Americans, including more than 500,000 Virginians enrolled in Medicare Part D.
  • Penalties on drug manufacturers that increase prices: Manufacturers are required to keep the increase in the cost of their drugs at or below inflation.

Clean Energy:

  • Boosts to clean energy investments: Clean energy manufacturers can apply for expanded tax credits that incentivize investment in and production of renewable energy technologies like solar power and offshore wind. The IRA set aside $4 billion in credits for businesses that make these investments in energy communities that have seen closures of coal mines or retirements of coal-fired power plants in recent years. This means that communities in Virginia, especially Southwest Virginia, are well-positioned to benefit from many of these tax credits and funding opportunities. In 2023, Kaine hosted an event at Mountain Empire Community College in Big Stone Gap to discuss how Virginia can best harness the clean energy tax credits, economic development, and job creation opportunities created by the legislation.
  • Improvements to home energy efficiency: Homeowners can receive up to 30 percent back through tax credits for making energy efficiency improvements to their home—generally up to a maximum of $1,200 per year but potentially up to $3,200 if improvements include heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, or biomass stoves.
  • Simplified Electric Vehicle (EV) Tax Credits: The IRA allows qualified individuals to get a tax credit of up to $7,500 for the purchase of new EVs or a tax credit of up to $4,000 for certain used EVs and plug-in hybrids purchased through a dealership. Virginians who buy an EV from a participating dealer can now choose to receive their tax credit for that purchase at the point-of-sale instead of after filing their taxes.
  • Federal funding to help low-income and disadvantaged communities more easily access solar energy: The IRA brought over $156 million in federal funding to Virginia to support solar energy development in low-income areas, which will lower energy costs for families and create good-quality jobs while tackling the effects of climate change.

The IRA has also expanded clean energy manufacturing in Virginia and brought a series of corporate investments to Virginia, including:

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Warner & Kaine Applaud Milestone to Lower Prescription Drug Prices for Seniors

Oct 03 2023

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine applauded the announcement that all 10 drug manufacturers whose drugs were selected for price negotiation with Medicare have agreed to participate in the Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program. The Inflation Reduction Act, which the senators helped pass last year, allows the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) to negotiate prescription drug prices for the first time in history, which will help lower costs for millions of Americans. 

In August, CMS announced the first 10 drugs covered under Medicare Part D—among the costliest for the Medicare program without generic competition—that will be eligible for the program. The drug manufacturers had until October 1 to decide whether to participate in negotiations or face penalties. Nationwide, Medicare enrollees covered under Part D paid a total of $3.4 billion in out-of-pocket costs in 2022 for these 10 drugs. In Virginia, Medicare Part D enrollees have more than 193,000 active prescriptions for these 10 medications. 

“Too many Americans aren’t able to afford the medications they need, and that’s why we fought to include a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act to allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices,” said the senators. “Today’s announcement that all 10 drug manufacturers will participate in the Inflation Reduction Act’s drug price negotiation program is a positive step towards lowering prescription drug costs for millions of seniors. We’re glad that the program continues to progress and look forward to seeing its full impacts in the years ahead.”

Under the law, CMS will negotiate directly with drug companies, and the first set of negotiated prices will go into effect on January 1, 2026. CMS will then select up to 15 more Part D drugs eligible for negotiation for 2027 and will continue to build on this progress in subsequent years by negotiating prices of more prescription drugs. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has estimated that the drug price negotiation program will lower Medicare spending by $98.5 billion over 10 years.

Warner and Kaine have championed policies to lower the cost of prescription drugs and long fought to allow CMS and to negotiate drug prices for those on Medicare. The senators repeatedly introduced legislation to allow Medicare to negotiate the best price of prescription drugs for seniors enrolled in Medicare Part D. Additionally, Warner, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, helped author the Modernizing and Ensuring PBM Accountability (MEPA) Act, bipartisan legislation approved by the Committee in July 2023 to help address rising prescription drug prices by regulating the middlemen who manage prescription drug benefits on behalf of health insurers and which included key provisions authored by Warner. 

Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions (HELP) Committee, previously introduced legislation that would allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices for Medicare Exchange plans, created under his Medicare-X Choice Act, and the Medicare Part D program. In May 2019, he gave a speech on the Senate floor highlighting stories from Virginians from Martinsville, Norfolk, Arlington, and Virginia Beach who have been hurt by the high cost of prescription drugs and calling for reforms to bring drug prices down. In May 2023, he voted to pass the bipartisan Pharmacy Benefit Manager Reform Act, legislation to lower drug costs, out of the HELP Committee. He has also authored and cosponsored bills to strengthen the pipeline and increase transparency for critical medicines and more efficiently usher drugs to the market by making key improvements to the Food and Drug Administration’s review process for interchangeable biosimilars.

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Warner Joined by Fredericksburg Senior for State of the Union

Feb 07 2023

CLICK HERE FOR BROADCAST-QUALITY VIDEO & B-ROLL 

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS

WASHINGTON – This evening, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) is welcoming Mrs. Marguerite Bailey Young to his Washington, D.C. office ahead of the President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address. Mrs. Young, a 94-year-old widow and retired school system administrator from Fredericksburg, is joining Sen. Warner as he highlights how seniors all across Virginia have begun to benefit from historic measures enacted under President Biden to lower the price of insulin and other prescription drugs.

“As a Senator and former Governor, I’ve met countless seniors over the years who have pleaded for the government to do something about the out-of-control costs of prescription drugs. This includes basic and lifesaving medicines like insulin, which has skyrocketed in price despite having been around for a century. It’s an incredible honor to welcome Mrs. Young to the U.S. Capitol and get to hear how the Inflation Reduction Act has made her health care more accessible and her insulin more affordable,” said Sen. Warner

“I’m 94 years young, and I don’t know anything that needs to be affordable more urgently than health care. During my years working in health care, there were many people I knew who had to ask for a fourth of a prescription so that they could get the medicine they needed and still afford to stay in their homes and feed their families,” said Mrs. Young. “As a diabetic and someone living on a fixed income, and as someone who didn’t make a whole lot of money back in the day as a teacher, I’m delighted to be saving close to two thousand dollars a year on my medicines, especially insulin.”  

Mrs. Young, an Accomack County native who lives independently and on a fixed income, relies on several daily medicines, including two types of insulin. Like many seniors across the country, Mrs. Young has seen the cost of her insulin drop dramatically thanks to a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act that caps insulin at $35 per month for Medicare recipients.

Mrs. Young has been an active advocate for access to health care for underserved persons in her region. She previously served as a board member of Central Virginia Health Services, a federally qualified health center with more than 15 practice sites throughout Central Virginia. She spent more than 30 years championing healthcare access and equity within her own community, first as a Board Trustees on the Mary Washington Healthcare Board, then as a citizen member on the health system’s board-level committees before retiring just last year.

The Inflation Reduction Act is a historic piece of legislation supported by Sen. Warner, passed by Congress, and signed into law in August of 2022. The Inflation Reduction Act will continue lowering the cost of prescription drugs and health care by capping out-of-pocket costs for seniors, allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, and extending the expanded Affordable Care Act subsidies for three years, among a number of other key provisions.  

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U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine on Inflation Reduction Act Becoming Law

Aug 16 2022

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) released the following statement after President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law:

“We’re proud that this law will lower the price of prescription drugs, reduce the deficit, bring down energy bills and fight climate change. We’re also glad that it will help ensure that miners suffering from black lung and their families get the care and benefits they deserve. We will continue to look for ways to support the health and well-being of our communities, decrease inflation, and lower costs for Virginians.”

Below are some of the ways the Inflation Reduction Act will benefit Virginians:

Lower Prescription Drug Costs

  • The law allows Medicare to negotiate drug prices for seniors and people with disabilities—a provision Warner and Kaine have long fought to pass to lower prescription drug costs.
  • The law establishes a $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs for seniors covered under Medicare Part D. In 2020, more than 36,000 Virginians with Medicare Part D spent more than $2,000 out-of-pocket on their prescription drugs.
  • The law expands the Low-Income Subsidy program, a program that currently helps cover prescription drug costs for over 11,000 low-income Virginians with Medicare.
  • The law provides free coverage for vaccines under Medicare Part D and improves access to vaccines under Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). In 2020, nearly 85,000 Virginians received a vaccine covered under Medicare Part D.

Affordable Health Care

  • During the pandemic, Congress enhanced subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to help lower health care premiums for millions of Americans. The Inflation Reduction Act will extend these enhanced subsidies for three years through 2025 to help make Virginians’ health insurance more affordable. Over 300,000 Virginians have ACA coverage in 2022.
  • The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) estimated that Virginians with ACA insurance would have seen a $71 increase in their monthly premiums for the next coverage year if these subsidies weren’t extended.

Black Lung Benefits

  • The law permanently extends the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund excise tax at a higher rate, providing more certainty for miners, miner retirees, and their families who rely on the fund to access benefits. In Virginia, thousands of miners and their families have received benefits through the trust fund since it was established, including approximately 2,600 Virginians last year alone.

Clean Energy and Climate Provisions

  • The law will reduce carbon emissions by roughly 40 percent by 2030.
  • The law incentivizes investment in and production of renewable energy technologies like solar power and the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project.  The Inflation Reduction Act expands the 48C investment tax credit for clean energy manufacturers, with $4 billion reserved for use exclusively in coal communities. All clean energy tax credits include a bonus for meeting domestic manufacturing requirements related to steel, iron, or other manufactured components. The law also expands tax credits for residential clean energy and home efficiency improvements.
  • According to a recent analysis, the clean energy provisions are expected to create nearly 1 million jobs per year.
  • The law includes tax credits for clean medium and heavy duty trucks, such as those produced at the Volvo Trucks New River Valley Plant.
  • The law includes a $7,500 consumer credit for the purchase of new electric vehicles and incentivizes that vehicles are produced in North America.
  • The law includes $9.7 billion for financial assistance to rural electric cooperatives to improve resilience and affordability.
  • The law includes $2 billion for the USDA Rural Energy for America Program to provide competitive grants and loan guarantees to farmers, ranchers, and rural small businesses for renewable energy systems or energy efficiency improvements.
  • The law includes $20 billion to help farmers and ranchers adopt agriculture conservation practices that improve landscape resilience.

Tax Fairness

  • The law takes steps to make sure that the largest corporations and wealthiest Americans pay their fair share in taxes, without increasing taxes on small businesses or families making less than $400,000 a year.
  • The law also provides funding to modernize Internal Revenue Service (IRS) systems and improve customer service when paying taxes. This will help ensure the IRS has the resources it needs to process tax returns quickly, get rebates to taxpayers faster, and address challenges Americans have when filing taxes.

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