US President Joe Biden and his Vice President Kamala Harris have announced a price reduction on 10 drugs for the elderly thanks to an agreement described as “historic” with pharmaceutical companies, The move comes as Democrats are intent on reviving Harris’ candidacy three months before the presidential election.
The deal with manufacturers will save about $1.5 billion for Medicare beneficiaries – those over 65 – and about 6 billion to taxpayers in the first year from its entry into force in 2026, according to the White House.
Biden, who withdrew from the re-election campaign in July and handed over the spot to Harris, called the decision in a statement a “historic step,” which both will mark on a joint campaign trip near Washington today.
Drug prices, which are not regulated at the national level in the United States, are often much higher than in other developed countries. Often, the insured person must also pay a portion of the costs out of pocket.
“For years, millions of Americans have had to choose between buying medicine and buying food,” the president added, “but we stood up to the labs and won.” The president, who usually announces most of his big economic plans himself, shared the credit with his vice president this time, with three months to go until the November election in which the Democratic candidate will face Republican Donald Trump.
The vice president, who was given even more space than Biden in the White House statement, promised she wouldn’t stop there, noting that the cost of other drugs would be discussed in the coming years.
These negotiations between Medicare and pharmaceutical companies have been ongoing since February. Among the ten treatments included in the agreement are Farxiga (for diabetes), from the Swedish-British group AstraZeneca; Entresto (heart problems), from the Swiss Novartis; and Eliquis (anticoagulant), from the American Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS). According to the White House, these drugs were prescribed in 2022 to about nine million beneficiaries. This reform is part of the Inflation Reduction Act, a vast energy transition and purchasing power improvement program promoted by the Biden administration.