Seniors are saving money on prescriptions, HHS secretary says
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Pennsylvania seniors and many others will benefit from lower drug prices.
That's the word Monday from U.S. Health & Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.
In an interview seen only on KDKA-TV, Becerra talked with KDKA-TV money editor Jon Delano not only about drug prices but also abortion and marijuana.
Secretary Becerra says seniors on Medicare are the first beneficiaries of the Biden administration's drug pricing program.
"Would you like to have $600 in your pocket today?," says Becerra.
"Today, those seniors on Medicare are paying $35 a month for insulin if they need it versus $100, in some cases $200 a month. Today, those same seniors are getting their vaccines, whether it's for covid, whether it's for shingles, whether it's for the flu – zero cost out of pocket."
HHS says, had the program started in 2021 instead of this year, some 177,000 Pennsylvanians would save more than $10.7 million through no-cost vaccinations under the Inflation Reduction Act.
Becerra says there's a ripple effect for everyone.
"I think a lot of those insulin manufacturers were listening because most of them that manufacture most of the insulin have reduced their price, some have capping it to $35 a month," Becerra said.
On the abortion pill, Mifepristone, under attack in a Texas court, the health secretary says it's been used safely by women for decades.
"For more than 20 years, Mifepristone has been dispensed to millions and millions of Americans safely and effectively," says Becerra. "And all of a sudden there's a case in Texas that tries to put that into question. We believe the science and the evidence speak for themselves."
However, Becerra ducked a question on whether the Food & Drug Administration has an expedited process to get the pill re-approved and back on the market quickly should the judge rule against it, noting only, "The FDA always uses the same process, relies on evidence and science."
The secretary has also been asked by the president to review the status of cannabis as an illegal federal schedule one drug that conflicts with states with medical marijuana like Pennsylvania and recreational marijuana like Maryland, New Jersey and New York.
So is change coming soon?
"It will all be based on the science. It will be based on safety for Americans and whether or not we can show that there's been a change since the early 1990s on what cannabis means for America."
Delano: "Might we have that decision by 4-20, April 20th?"
Becerra: "Well, I know we're going to try to move quickly. It's got to go through a number of hoops. Safety and efficacy are what will drive this determination, so stay tuned."
For those not up on their cannabis slang, 4/20 was popularized by California high school students as the time of day to smoke weed. More recently, April 20, 4/20, has become an informal cannabis holiday.
But again, no sign from the secretary that he will have anything new to report on that day.