As the MAGA Circus Tent Collapses, Joe Biden Delivers

Today, as the Republican civil war threatens to make Kevin McCarthy’s Speakership a casualty, President Biden has made a positive announcement for millions of Americans.

Back in August, President Biden declared that a provision of the partisanly-passed Inflation Reduction Act would go into effect, listing the first ten prescription drugs in the Medicare program that would be the subject of price negotiation with their pharmaceutical manufacturers.

The first round of drugs concern a wide range of ailments—from diabetes to heart disease to Crohn’s disease to blood clots. In 2022, seniors and other Medicare recipients spent nearly $3.5 billion on these specific drugs alone.

This was an extraordinary development in the grueling fight to reduce prescription drug costs for Americans—particularly seniors. A development which was a component of disparate modern presidential campaigns: both Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders made it a clarion call in 2016. Sanders was never elected and Trump abandoned the promise days after his inauguration in 2017.

Even previous Democratic administrations promised to get it done, but both President Clinton and President Obama failed. Joe Biden delivered.

Immediately after, a furious Big Pharma appealed to the courts to try to block this provision of the IRA. So far, they’ve failed. And now, having passed the October 1st deadline, those pharmaceutical companies have agreed to sit at the negotiating table for the first round of drug price negotiations in the history of Medicare.

Moreover, Medicare Advantage, taking its cue from recent court decisions and the President’s commitment to delivering results for the American people, is proactively slashing copays for 2024—two years before the negotiated Medicare prices take effect.

These crucial developments will likely fail to capture as much media attention as they deserve, but they will produce a material benefit for some of your loved ones. Or perhaps you. And it’s important for all to remember that President Biden and Democrats alone are responsible for this relief. Every sitting Republican voted against the Inflation Reduction Act.

Reward them for that relief—and more importantly—enable them to bring so much more by voting Democrat next November.