Biden to Advocate for New Initiatives Lowering Drug Costs
TL/DR –
President Joe Biden plans to propose further actions to decrease the price of prescription drugs during the State of the Union address. He seeks to increase the federal government’s ability to negotiate down the prices of drugs in Medicare and extend a $2,000 limit on out-of-pocket drug expenses to all Americans with insurance, not just those in Medicare. These proposed actions would expand on the Inflation Reduction Act, which was passed two years ago and includes provisions to reduce prescription drug prices.
President Biden to Bolster Efforts to Reduce Prescription Drug Prices
President Joe Biden has expressed pride in his administration’s efforts to reduce the price of prescription drugs. The forthcoming State of the Union address will unveil more plans on this front.
Biden will propose empowering the federal government to negotiate lower drug prices in Medicare, according to White House officials. Additionally, he will suggest expanding the $2,000 limit on annual out-of-pocket drug expenses for all insured Americans, not just Medicare recipients.
These proposals are extensions of federal health care actions that became law two years ago under the Inflation Reduction Act. The Act aimed to lower prescription drug prices, including allowing the government to negotiate certain drug prices directly with manufacturers.
Despite difficulties in passing the proposal through Congress, Biden plans to increase the number of drugs subject to negotiation to 50 each year. He also seeks to extend the first-ever limit on out-of-pocket drug spending in Medicare introduced in the Inflation Reduction Act to private insurance, potentially saving all Americans from high drug costs.
Implementation of these ideas would require both Biden’s re-election and Democratic control of Congress, as Republicans generally oppose increased federal control over drug prices. They claim this would stifle innovation and result in fewer and inferior treatments.
Democrats, however, argue that such objections overlook the modern pharmaceutical market’s profits and that negotiation would promote the development of more effective treatments. Regardless of the arguments, these initiatives enjoy broad public support according to polls.
Thursday’s speech aims to both highlight Biden’s achievements so far and outline future proposals. “President Biden is doubling down on his efforts to lower drug prices, keep premium costs low, expand Medicaid, and put the health and well-being of families first,” asserted Leslie Dach, chair of the advocacy group Protect Our Care.
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