Biden praises Harris in first joint event, saying she will make "one hell of a president"
President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris appeared together in their first public event since she replaced him as the Democratic nominee, touting the administration's new plan to lower prescription drug prices for Americans on Medicare.
Appearing at Prince George's County Community College in Maryland, an untethered Mr. Biden praised Harris, saying she will make "one hell of a president."
Mr. Biden and Harris announced the outcome of the first Medicare drug price negotiation as part of the administration's efforts to lower costs for Americans.
"There's a lot of love in this room for our president," Harris said. "And I think it's for many, many reasons, including, few leaders in our nation have done more on so many issues, including to expand access to affordable health care, than Joe Biden."
Two years ago, the Biden administration gave Medicare the authority to negotiate lower drug prices, allowing Medicare to go "toe to toe" with big Pharma to negotiate drug prices, Harris said. It was Harris who cast the tie-breaking vote for the Inflation Reduction Act, which granted Medicare that authority.
"Thank you, Joe!" she said, to resounding chants of, "Thank you, Joe," from the crowd.
As the White House announced earlier Thursday, Medicare has reached agreements with drug manufacturers on lower prices for all 10 of the drugs selected for the initial round of negotiation. "It's a relief for the millions of seniors that take these drugs to treat everything from heart failure, blood clots, diabetes, arthritis, Crohn's disease, and more — and it's a relief for American taxpayers," Mr. Biden said in a statement.
The 10 prescription drugs in the first round included big names like Eliquis, Jardiance and Stelara, and others that have among the highest spending in Medicare Part D. The lower prices, which take effect in 2026, could save taxpayers around $6 billion in the first year, the White House said, while those who are enrolled in Medicare Part D would save around $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs.
The Biden administration's negotiations will lower the cost of these 10 drugs between 38% and 79%, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
The president said he could fly Americans to Canada or France to get the very same drugs for far cheaper than the "totally unaffordable" ones in the U.S.
"Kamala and I both get it. We know it isn't just about health care — it's about your dignity," the president said, adding that he believes health care "should be a right, not a privilege in America."
Although the White House is touting the savings for prescription drugs, seniors weren't paying full price for such drugs before the negotiations and the negotiations won't affect Americans who aren't on Medicare.
"Kamala and I and all of us in this room are going to continue standing up to Big Pharma," Mr. Biden told the crowd in Maryland. "I've fought too damn hard to yield now."
Harris, who vaulted to the top of the Democratic ticket less than a month ago when Mr. Biden announced he wouldn't be running for reelection, said in a statement that the administration isn't stopping here, with plans to select additional drugs for price negotiations each year. The White House has also touted extending the $35 cap on insulin for Medicare recipients to the commercial market.
While Harris hit the campaign trail in the aftermath of the president's announcement that he would not run for reelection, Mr. Biden has largely kept out of the spotlight, yielding the stage to Harris. But Mr. Biden, no longer worried about his reelection prospects, spoke his mind on Monday.
"You may have heard about the MAGA Republican Project 2025 plan," Mr. Biden said, to boos. "They want to repeal Medicare's power to negotiate drug prices, let Big Pharma get back to charging whatever they want. Let me tell ya what our Project 2025 is — beat the hell out of 'em."