President Joe Biden recycled healthcare priorities that were either rejected or excluded from Democrat’s newly enacted prescription drug law in his State of the Union Speech, as he sought to outline Democratic accomplishments and contrast with Republican’s healthcare visions.
Under the Inflation Reduction Act, out-of-pocket costs for insulin were capped at $35 a month for Medicare beneficiaries starting this year. Biden called for Tuesday night to extend that insulin cap to people covered under private insurers. The proposal has a slim chance of passing a divided Congress.
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“There are millions of other Americans who do not or are not on Medicare, including 200,000 young people with Type 1 diabetes who need this insulin to stay alive,” Biden said. “Let’s finish the job this time. Let’s cap the cost of insulin for everybody at $35.”
A proposal to place an insulin price cap for those covered under private insurance was rejected by Republican senators during negotiations for the Inflation Reduction act, though the law later passed without Republican support (and without the provision). GOP lawmakers contended that a price cap for people privately insured would disrupt the market and lead to higher costs for individuals.
Biden revived calls in his speech to permanently extend Affordable Care Act subsidies, which the White House claims have lowered annual insurance premiums by an average of $800 per person. Under the Inflation Reduction Act, the enhanced subsidies were extended through 2025 for those who earn more than four times the federal poverty level, roughly $54,000 for an individual.
Expanding Medicaid coverage for the remaining 11 states that haven’t done so also received a mention in Biden’s speech. It comes as a COVID-19-era policy that required that states offer continuous enrollment for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, public health insurance programs for low-income people, in order to receive additional federal funding, is set to unwind beginning this April.
Republican lawmakers seized on the opportunity to poke holes in the Democratic legislation, which they say will stunt health research and drive up costs.
“By placing government price controls on prescription drugs, President Biden has already caused some innovators to pull the plugs on research on rare diseases, anti-bacterials, celiac, and many others,” said House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) in a statement. “Instead of passing bipartisan legislation that would have led to more cures with lower costs, he pushed forward with a bill that gives less hope to patients and will make America more reliant on China’s drug development and manufacturing supply chains.”
House Republicans are expected to lead oversight hearings this year focused on the implementation of the bill.
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Biden also gave a nod to his “Cancer Moonshot” mission to cut the death rate from cancer by 50% over the next 25 years, noting the success of a call from President George W. Bush in his 2003 State of the Union speech to end HIV/AIDS.
“Twenty years ago, under the leadership of President Bush and countless advocates and champions, he undertook a bipartisan effort through PEPFAR to transform the global fight against HIV/AIDS,” Biden said. “I believe we can do the same thing with cancer. Let’s end cancer as we know it. Cure some cancers once and for all.”
