As his re-election efforts are in full swing, President Biden has suggested that health care, especially health care costs, will be at the center of his campaign.
“We are earning strong profits to reduce your healthcare costs,” he said. “It’s disgusting to see Americans cheated,” he said last month.Tomorrow he will hold an event at the White House where he is staying. expected to announce The first 10 drugs will be part of a new program that allows Medicare officials to negotiate with drug companies to lower drug prices.
Biden’s emphasis on health care is also because it is one of the administration’s top priorities, even as other policies such as climate and infrastructure receive more attention. The administration cut the cost of hearing aids, cut the cost of health insurance for those who purchase hearing aids through the Obamacare exchange, and cut a variety of expenses for Medicare recipients.
“Millions of people benefit from medical provisions,” Larry Levitt, executive vice president of KFF, a medical research group, told us. Some people save “a lot of money,” he added.
Biden and his aides understand that these policies will be popular with swing voters. Swing voters tend to be conservative on many social issues, while leaning left on economic issues, as we explained earlier in this newsletter. This is especially true for floating voters without a four-year college degree. The president describes his own healthcare policy as part of “bidenomics in action.”
“If you look at the poll data, there is overwhelming support for what we have proposed,” Mr. Biden said earlier this year. “Actually, they’re a lot more popular than I am.”
Today’s newsletter delves into the details of Biden’s healthcare policy and some of its criticisms.
Medicare regulations
The Containing Inflation Act (which Mr. Biden signed into law last year), which focuses on funding clean energy, also includes measures to reduce drug costs for Medicare recipients. Virtually every American over the age of 65 has Medicare, saving many hundreds of dollars a year out of pocket. Those who spend the most on drugs are likely to save thousands of dollars a year, according to the KFF.
Where will that savings come from?
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As of January of this year, the law caps a Medicare beneficiary’s copay for insulin at $35 a month. The cap would save about 1.5 million Americans an average of about $500 a year.
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The provision allows Medicare beneficiaries to receive some vaccines, such as shingles and tetanus, for free.
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The law limits recipients’ total spending on prescription drugs to $2,000 a year, but the provision won’t go into effect until 2025, after the next presidential election.
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The law penalizes pharmaceutical companies that raise drug prices faster than the rate of overall inflation. In recent years, half of the medicines covered by Medicare should have been covered. The law also includes policies that allow Medicare officials to negotiate with drug companies to lower prices.
These last two provisions will probably have a greater impact on government spending on health care than on household spending. However, cuts in government spending reduce the need for taxes and still benefit the American people in the long run.
Beyond Medicare
People under 65 haven’t benefited as much from Mr. Biden’s policies, but many have benefited to some extent.
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The Inflation Control Act increased tax subsidies for Americans who purchase health insurance through Obamacare.is more than 13 million people Each saves an average of about $800 per year. This policy is temporary and expires in 2026.
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An executive order signed by Biden in 2021 allowed the FDA to allow drugstores and other retailers to sell hearing aids over the counter. This change cut the cost of hearing aids by more than half. Before the change, the average hearing aid price was about $5,000.
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Biden is trying to close a loophole that some hospitals and insurance companies have exploited to keep sending unexpectedly large bills despite the bipartisan 2020 law signed into law by President Donald Trump. there is
potential problem
A fundamental reason for Mr. Biden is that Americans pay more for health care than citizens of any other country. There are several possible causes, but many experts believe the main factor is simply the US government’s failure to stop drug companies, hospitals and insurance companies from making high claims. His influential 2003 paper published in an academic journal made this claim outspoken in its headline. “It’s because of the price, you fool.” Those high prices lead to increased profits for healthcare companies.
Still, the US system has some potential advantages. High prices create incentives for companies to develop new drugs, some of which are life-saving. Four of the world’s top five pharmaceutical companies are based in the U.S. Pharmaceutical industry warns Medicare price cuts could stifle innovation, but analysts from the bipartisan Congressional Budget Office Many independent analysts, including List, expect any such impact to be minor.
Another possible unintended consequence is drug companies raising private insurance rates in response to Medicare price cuts. That would effectively shift money from younger Americans to older Americans, possibly exacerbating economic inequality.
Most experts are also relatively optimistic about these potential downsides. But, as Mr. Levitt told us, “The truth is, we don’t know.”
health
other big stories
opinion
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Gail Collins and Brett Stevens Discuss Vivek Ramaswamy.
Click here for the column of Mr. Nicholas Christophe About backpacking.
morning reading
Metropolitan Diary: Sand the sandwich.
life lived: Claude Louis Picasso was a photographer and the son of Pablo Picasso, who managed his estate after he was legally recognized as his father’s heir. He died at the age of 76.
sports news
Simone Biles: Just weeks after returning to elite competition, the 26-year-old won her eighth All-America All-Around title, making her the oldest gymnast to do so.
Golfer’s Rise: Victor Hovland is ready to be a superstar After a dominating performance at the Tour Championship yesterday.
US Open: The first round of the tournament starts today. Novak Djokovic is back in New York after missing last year’s tournament due to COVID-19 vaccination regulations.
Popcorn for puppies? The British cinema chain has been rolling out some screenings, starting with Strays, a movie about a group of dogs (voiced by actors such as Will Ferrell and Jamie Foxx) who band together to get revenge on their owners. Dogs are welcome.
Dogs in the film are not allowed to sit in seats and must be cleaned up by the owner in the event of an accident. But it’s still a bargain. You don’t need your own ticket and you don’t have to turn off your mobile phone.
