President Joe Biden has described the challenges Americans face with drug costs and touted his administration’s work to address this issue, an issue the White House sees as a win for them as they move forward. heading towards the 2024 elections.
He was quick to contrast his actions with those of Republicans, criticizing the GOP for trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act and cut Social Security and Medicare.
And he joked that falling drug prices are a popular issue.
“It’s a lot more popular than me,” he said as the crowd laughed.
He spent much of the speech comparing his ideas to Republican proposals and shared, as he has often done, his own family’s struggles with health care costs when his son Beau was diagnosed with cancer. of the brain in 2015.
President Joe Biden hit out at Republicans during a speech in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he trumpeted his administration’s work to bring down drug prices
Biden spoke at the University of Nevada on the final day of a three-day trip that also took him to California. The White House believes health care is an issue it can beat the GOP on
“I have been a major consumer of health care and my family has,” he said, before praising the medical professionals.
“Doctors let you live. Nurses – men and women – make you want to live.
In February 1988, after suffering recurrent painful headaches, he had two life-threatening brain aneurysms. The then 45-year-old senator needed emergency surgery.
He often used his experience and how medical workers saved the lives of his two sons, when his wife and daughter were killed in a traffic accident, to sympathize with Americans grappling with loss.
And he contrasted that with the Republican Party’s extreme victory.
“These MAGA Republicans — they’re different,” he said. “They are determined to repeal the Affordable Care Act.”
He also repeated his previous accusation that they want to cut benefit programs. He pointed out to the crowd that Republicans during his State of the Union address, who accused him of lying about their position, promised not to cut massive aid programs.
But, he warned, “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
Then Senator Joe Biden speaks to the press after returning to Capitol Hill in 1988 after undergoing brain surgery for aneurysms
His remarks painted a grim picture for the poor and the elderly if Republicans were successful on health issues.
He warned that if Republicans were successful in appealing the Affordable Care Act, millions of Americans would be unable to get insurance due to pre-existing conditions.
This provision is one of the most popular of Obamacare, the nickname of the Affordable Care Act.
Biden is pushing for cheaper prescription drugs as he prepares for an expected bid for a second term in the White House.
“MAGA Republicans don’t think this is a good idea,” the president said, accusing them of siding with the pharmaceutical industry.
Biden paid tribute to doctors and nurses at the start of his speech. “Doctors let you live. Nurses – male and female – make you want to live,” he said
The president has previously bragged about how his administration has cut the cost of insulin for Americans.
The Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act is expected to save taxpayers billions of dollars and reduce drug costs for the approximately 84 million Americans who rely on Medicare.
In addition to capping the price of insulin at $35, the legislation allows the federal government to negotiate deals on a handful of pharmaceutical drugs for Medicare enrollees.
Biden seeks to extend that authority in his budget proposal he submitted to Congress. He is expected to fail in the Republican-controlled House.
But the president could turn it into a matter of successful re-election.
Cheaper prescription drugs are seen as a winning bet with older voters, who are also reliable in showing up at the polls.
In his remarks, Biden specifically warned of the consequences for the elderly.
“For seniors on fixed incomes,” he said, “the constant question is whether they can afford their medications.”
“It’s not just old people – it’s every family out there.”
The President, who is wrapping up a three-day trip to the West Coast, was in a jovial mood as he addressed the friendly crowd.
“Is there a doctor in the house,” he joked as he began his remarks.
And he pulled out one of his old jokes when he saw people above him, watching his remarks from a higher level: “Don’t jump,” he told them.
He also praised healthcare workers for their work during the COVID pandemic. Several doctors and nurses were present for his remarks.
“Healthcare workers are putting their lives on the line,” he noted to cheers from the crowd.
