Biden and Harris welcome lower Medicare drug prices and each other – DW – 15.08.2024

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris appeared together on Thursday in Maryland, not far from Washington and the White House.

Officially, the move was to announce changes to how Medicare purchases prescription drugs. The government claimed that this would drastically reduce prescription drug prices.

But the event also devolved into mutual praise and campaign rhetoric as the two took the stage just weeks after Biden decided to drop out of the race and Harris took his place.

“She can be a damn good president,” Biden said of his 2020 running mate, adding that the goal for the November 5 vote is to “give hell to her” Republican opponent.

Harris, meanwhile, gave another brief speech to pay tribute to the president, saying it was an honor to serve under the “most extraordinary human being.”

“There is great affection in this room for our president,” said Harris, who is set to be officially confirmed at the Democratic Party convention in Chicago next week.

According to US Medicare, important medicines can now be obtained much more cheaply

Biden and Harris presented negotiated lower prices for ten of the most commonly purchased prescription drugs used by Medicare – in one case the savings were 79 percent, according to the U.S. government.

The change was part of the far-reaching “Inflation Reduction Act” set to take effect in 2022, and the new prices were set to take effect starting next year.

The US government expects savings of around six billion dollars (around 5.5 billion euros) in the first year alone.

As Biden spoke to the crowd at the community college in the city of Largo, shouts of “Thank you, Joe” could be heard.

“We have finally defeated Big Pharma,” Biden said at the event.

Industry, Republicans had opposed the changes

“I have worked my entire career to hold bad actors accountable and reduce prescription drug costs,” Harris said. “Medicare can use that, [collective bargaining] Power to compete on equal terms with the big pharmaceutical companies and negotiate lower drug prices.”

For the changes to take effect, Harris had to cast the vice president's 101st special vote in the Senate – the last resort in a 50-50 tie in the Senate – after not a single Republican senator supported them.

She emphasized this on Thursday in Largo as Democrats try to portray themselves as the party that is trying to keep people's medical bills low.

Republicans claimed the changes amounted to “price fixing” and argued that they could ultimately lead to higher prices. They supported warnings from industry lobbyists that they would hamper research and development of new drugs.

Which medications were affected by the change and to what extent?

The government recorded the largest price drop for Merck & Co.'s diabetes drug Januvia, which fell by 79 percent.

Novo Nordisk’s insulin aspart products recorded the second largest decline, at 76%.

According to the government, eight other listed drugs could be purchased at prices 38 to 68 percent lower.

The true extent of the savings, however, is not transparent. The US government compares the prices with the list prices of the drugs and not with the prices that Medicare previously paid. The government says it is not allowed to disclose this information.

However, the government states that its estimates of overall spending savings take into account previous purchasing prices.

Medicare is a government health insurance program in the United States that is aimed primarily at people over 65, but also at younger people with disabilities. It is estimated that over 60 million people are fully or partially insured.

More than half of U.S. voters were 50 or older in 2020, bringing them closer to Medicare eligibility age.

It is estimated that health care accounts for about 8 percent of American household spending, or about 16 percent of national GDP, making America the most expensive major industrial nation in the world when it comes to seeking medical care.

People who have health insurance in the United States usually still have to pay their medical bills, including prescriptions.

The idea, however, is that Medicare can pass on at least some or all of the list price savings to end consumers.

msh/lo (AFP, AP, Reuters)