Biden says he’s focused ‘intensely’ on lowering drug costs
LAS VEGAS >> President Joe Biden on Wednesday said his administration was focused “intensely” on lowering health care costs and took aim at “MAGA” Republicans whom he said are intent on dialing back Medicare coverage for millions of Americans.
Biden used a speech in Las Vegas where he was wrapping a three-day Western swing to make the case there are stark differences in how Democrats are tackling skyrocketing drug prices compared to their Republican counterparts.
The president sought to make the contrast as he gears up for an expected reelection announcement. The speech on Wednesday in Las Vegas could serve as an early preview of the campaign ahead as Biden aims to make his efforts at lowering drug costs central to his policy and political agenda.
Biden, speaking before a crowd of doctors and nurses at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, vowed to protect Medicare and Social Security, while touting his administration’s successful efforts to press pharmaceutical companies to lower the costs of insulin for Americans suffering from diabetes.
“MAGA Republicans in Congress don’t think any of this is a good idea,” Biden said. “They think Big Pharma should be able to make the exorbitant profits at the expense of the American people.”
The White House thinks it has a winning message in showcasing legislation passed last year that is expected to save taxpayers billions of dollars and lower the cost of drugs for the roughly 84 million Americans who rely on Medicare.
Ahead of the speech, White House officials made the case that issue is central to Americans lives and called on Republicans to work with them to lower prescription costs.
“These kind of savings will give people a little bit more breathing room, more comfort as they decide to go to the grocery store to buy their food, more ability to pay their rent, or maybe it’s just to do something decent for their families,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra told reporters on Tuesday as he previewed the Democratic president’s remarks.
Biden talked up how his administration is rolling out several parts of that law, passed in a Democratic-controlled Congress last year, that cap the price of insulin, make most vaccines free and allow the federal government to negotiate deals on a handful of pharmaceutical drugs for Medicare enrollees.
The federal government expects to see significant savings from those negotiations and to make money from a rule that requires drugmakers to send Medicare a check when they raise drug prices higher than inflation.
“Let’s finish the job,” Biden said. “Let’s protect the lower prescription drug costs for everyone.”
Already, the legislation caps the price of insulin at $35 for disabled and older Americans who rely on Medicare.