IRVINE, Calif., Oct 14 (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden criticized Republicans and drug companies during a stopover at a community college in California on Friday, as he rallied in November’s midterm elections. Running for fellow Democrats.
Biden’s itinerary includes stops in California on Friday and Oregon on Saturday, as the president looks to position his party, Democrats, as advocates for consumers and lower health care costs at a time when inflation is the top concern for voters. Midterm elections are in November. 8.
“We went up against Big Pharma and ultimately beat them,” Biden said, referring to provisions of the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act that would allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices, cap prescription costs for seniors, and Reduce insulin prescriptions to $35. health insurance beneficiaries.
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Biden has pledged to cap insulin prices to $35 for all Americans if Democrats retain the House and Senate. Most projections point to a smaller Democratic advantage in the Senate and a larger Republican advantage in the House.
He claimed that if Republicans gained control, they would repeal prescription drug price caps and take away Medicare’s ability to negotiate drug prices.
More than 1,000 raucous protesters greeted Biden’s motorcade in Irving calling for democracy in Iran, where anti-government demonstrations have been raging for weeks.
The president referred to the protests in his speech, saying the United States stood with the Iranian people.
White House spokeswoman Karin Jean-Pierre later said: “He saw … the protests of Iranian-Americans there, and it moved him.” Comment on this.”
The president was introduced by Democratic Rep. Katie Porter, who grilled bank and drug company executives about their profits during a closely watched congressional hearing.
“This is the cold truth. Corporate greed worsens health outcomes, deprives taxpayers, and threatens our capitalist economy,” Porter said, blaming the pharmaceutical industry for undermining competition and price transparency.
Biden signed an order Friday giving the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) 90 days to outline how it will use new care and payment models to reduce drug costs.
U.S. consumer prices rose 8.2% in the 12 months through September, data on Thursday showed, after hitting more than 9% in the summer and growing at the fastest pace since 1981.For the most recent month, health care costs and food and rent
HHS has the authority to promote new ways to reduce costs and expand care through the Innovation Center, created by the 2010 health care reform law called Obamacare, located at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
About 65 million Americans are enrolled in health insurance plans that have come under fire for their cost to taxpayers.
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Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Jeff Mason; Additional reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Heather Timmons, David Gregorio and Shri Navaratnam
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