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One of the missions of Biden’s presidency was to lower prescription drug prices. Biden was blocked by Republicans in Congress and the courts on some of his executive actions, but the President has had great success with Medicare.
Biden announced in a statement today:
I believe that health care should be a right – not a privilege – and throughout my presidency I have advanced that goal. This week, we take another step closer to an America where everyone can afford the quality health care they need, as Medicare’s new $2,000 cap on prescription drug costs from my Inflation Reduction Act goes fully into effect. Before I took office, people with Medicare who took expensive drugs could face a crushing burden, paying $10,000 a year or more in copays for the drugs they need to stay alive. When I took on Big Pharma and won, we changed that, capping seniors’ out-of-pocket spending on drugs they get at the pharmacy for the first time ever. Costs were capped at about $3,500 in 2024, and in just the first six months of the year, this policy saved people with Medicare $1 billion in cost-sharing. On January 1, 2025, the cap on drug costs fully phases in, and costs are now capped at $2,000 per year. As a result, 19 million people are expected to save an average of $400 each. That’s a game changer for the American people. My Inflation Reduction Act has changed Medicare for the better, and as a result Americans will have more money back in their pockets in the years to come.
One of the prime targets for Trump and his party to help pay for their planned tax cuts for the wealthy and largest corporations is cuts to healthcare, specifically Medicaid and veterans programs.
Republicans can’t cut Medicare in a reconciliation bill, but one of the things that Trump can be counted on to do is to roll back the progress that Biden has made in lowering costs for America’s seniors.
For the past four years, Biden has treated healthcare as a right every American deserves access to. Biden expanded the ACA and Medicaid, increased health insurance subsidies, and has made historic changes to Medicare.
I suspect that millions of Americans have no idea what they are going to be losing when the next administration takes office.
Biden did good things for people that will help them, as the President said, for years to come, and people may not appreciate it until it is gone.
What do you think about what Biden has done on Medicare and healthcare? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
