President Biden visited the University of Nevada on Wednesday where he said he is focused on strengthening Medicare and lowering the cost of prescription drugs.
“After decades of trying to take on big pharma, we finally won,” Biden said. “Now instead of paying whatever the company wants to charge you, Medicare will be able to negotiate prices.”
Biden highlighted all the measures his administration has passed including the Inflation Reduction Act, which helps ensure companies don’t raise prices faster than inflation. He also spoke of successfully getting companies to cap insulin costs for seniors on Medicare.
“Let’s finish the job,” he said. “Let’s protect the lower prescription drug cost for everyone, let’s expand health care for more people to get care, let’s keep building the economy from the middle out to the bottom up.”
During his speech, Biden said some Republicans are determined to block healthcare programs that can help Americans such as the Inflation Reduction Act, and want to continue to fill the pockets of big pharma. Republican leaders disagree. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy argues that the president’s budget proposal isn’t going to pass.
“The president’s budget is not serious,” said McCarthy in an interview with Fox News. “It’s not serious for the current time we live in. High debt brings inflation and what happens with inflation?” he continued. “You see with this bank, interest rates moving up where they’re stuck in bonds and others, we watch the pain that it causes American citizens.”
Most of the president’s plans for health care depend on the approval of his new $6.8 trillion dollar budget proposal which has been heavily criticized by Republicans who currently make up a majority in the house.
