Meanwhile, Joe Biden announced a breakthrough in his promise to lower prescription drug prices for older Americans. People enrolled in Medicare, the government health insurance program for Americans over 65 or with disabilities, will pay less for 10 common prescription drugs, thanks to legislation Biden signed two years ago. Here’s more on that:
Joe Biden’s administration announced a landmark healthcare negotiation on Thursday in which 10 popular medications will now be available at lower prices for Medicare beneficiaries.
The discounts on the 2023 prices ranged from 38% to 79%, according to the figures released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS).
The 10 drugs are Januvia (diabetes), Fiasp (diabetes), Farxiga (diabetes, heart failure, kidney disease), Enbrel (arthritis and psoriasis), Jardiance (diabetes, heart and kidney disease), Stelara (arthritis, psoriasis and colitis), Xarelto (blood clots), Eliquis (blood clots), Entresto (heart failure) and Imbruvica (blood cancers).
The new policy, which is the first of its kind in the US, was part of the Inflation Reduction Act, which Democrats passed in 2022. It gives people on Medicare, a government insurance plan for seniors above 65, financial relief amid increasing health costs.
“For years, millions of Americans were forced to choose between paying for medications or putting food on the table, while Big Pharma blocked Medicare from being able to negotiate prices on behalf of seniors and people with disabilities,” Biden said in a statement. “But we fought back – and won.”
The economy had to be one of the most frustrating issues on Joe Biden’s plate during his presidency. While he loved to talk about the labor market’s recovery from the mass layoffs caused by Covid-19 and the better-than-expected economic growth, polls showed that Americans were far more concerned by inflation, which during his presidency hit levels not seen since the 1980s, and brought his approval ratings down with it.
But Kamala Harris is the Democratic nominee now, and will take a shot at resetting the narrative with voters. The Guardian’s Helen Sullivan reports that the vice-president will detail her economic plan on Friday with a speech in North Carolina, where she’ll announce her support for a federal ban on price gouging – which Biden and other Democrats have repeatedly blamed for the uptick in prices.
Good morning, US politics blog readers. This afternoon, Kamala Harris will hold her first joint rally with Joe Biden since the president ended his bid for a second term and allowed her to take his place at the top of the Democratic ticket. The duo will appear at a community college in Washington DC’s Maryland suburbs, and the event will be focused on their efforts to lower prices after years of politically perilous inflation. You can expect to hear plenty about yesterday’s encouraging inflation data, and this morning’s news that the Biden administration had negotiated discounts of up to 79% for 10 popular medications for people receiving Medicare, thanks to the president’s landmark Inflation Reduction Act signed two years ago.
And don’t be surprised if the president and vice-president lay into Donald Trump as they seek to make the most of the momentum that Harris appears to have since entering the race. Polls continue to show her leading him both nationally and in the handful of swing states expected to determine the result, a turnaround from when Biden was the nominee and struggling to overtake him anywhere. The rally begins at 1.30pm ET, and we’ll be covering it live.
There is plenty more happening today:
Trump will hold his second press conference in as many weeks today at 4.30pm. More and more Republicans are calling on him to reset his campaign as Harris surges in popularity, but he definitely did not do that in his last encounter with the press.
JD Vance, the Ohio senator who is Trump’s running mate, speaks in swing state Pennsylvania at 10am. After a speech in Michigan yesterday, he surprised reporters by inviting them to ask him questions in front of the crowd. We’ll see if he plans to make that a habit.
Speaking of polls, the Cook Political Report shifted its rating for Nevada’s crucial Senate race from “toss-up” to “leans Democrat” in good news for the incumbent Democrat Jacky Rosen.