$2,000 Medicare Drug Cap Begins Jan. 1

The cap, which should benefit millions of Americans, is part of a multiyear plan to reduce prescription drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries.

A staff member sorts through drugs while filling a prescription at the Clay-Battelle Community Health Center's pharmacy in Blacksville, W.Va., on March 21, 2017. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

Medicare recipients will pay no more than $2,000 annually for covered prescription drugs starting Jan. 1, a change that could potentially benefit millions of older Americans.

According to health policy research group KFF, 5 million Medicare Part D enrollees faced out-of-pocket drug costs of $2,000 or more in at least one year between 2012 and 2021.