Wednesday marks the one-year anniversary of President Joe Biden signing the Inflation Reduction Act. Biden held a press event today along with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in order to promote the law’s important investments in energy and health costs. “[This law is] one of the most significant pieces of legislation that’s ever been enacted into law,” Biden said, noting how Democratic lawmakers made this happen without a single Republican vote. Biden highlighted the environmental benefits of the law, as well as the manufacturing jobs created by the investment in renewable energy.
Biden pointed to data showing that in addition to lowering inflation in the U.S. to levels below the rest of the world, wages have been increasing at a higher pace. Biden spoke of a question his father used to ask about policy and the economy. “How much is left after all the monthly bills are paid?” the president asked. “How much do you have left over after you pay them all, and is there, at the end of the month, just [enough] to have a little bit of breathing room?”
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Answering his father’s questions, Biden talked about the Inflation Reduction Act’s checks on health care costs. “We’re talking about life-saving steps to reduce health care costs. It locks in place the lower health care premiums for millions of American families under the Affordable Care Act,” Biden said. The president then highlighted the very good news that “Medicare finally has the power to negotiate lower prescription drug prices,” and under the new law drug companies must pay rebates to cover any difference between their wildly high prices and the actual rate of inflation.
There’s a reason the pharmaceutical industry spent more than $375 million in 2022 trying to defeat the Inflation Reduction Sct. A new report from the AARP’s Public Policy Institute shows that the cost of the top 25 Medicare Part D drugs (the outpatient drugs covered by Medicare) have increased “an average of 226 percent” since entering the marketplace, far higher than the rate of inflation. This price gouging affects 49 million of the nearly 64 million Americans covered by Medicare.
According to a White House report, if this new law had been in place in 2021, 3.4 million people with Medicare would have saved $243 million in out-of-pocket costs on vaccines alone. It is also why in June, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America lobbying group became the fourth industry group to sue to block the enforcement of Medicare’s new drug price negotiation powers.
Biden and the Democratic Party must laud and explain this achievement at every possible chance. They should also make sure to mention Big Pharma’s efforts to thwart the savings to Americans. It was a popular piece of legislation when it passed and will remain so as tens of millions of Americans and tens of million more loved ones see their medications becoming more affordable.
When the president wrapped up his speech, he said something you will never hear a Republican say. “It’s not about me, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart,” Biden said. “It’s about you.”
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Did anything happen while we were all taking a well-deserved break? Something about Donald Trump being indicted not once, but two times! Also in the news: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign collapse. So much is happening!
