Biden and Harris tout drug price cuts at joint rally

Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden celebrate lower drug prices for Medicare — "She's going to make one hell of a president."

(Image credit: Aaron Schwartz / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

What happened

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris appeared together Thursday to celebrate Medicare's first successful price negotiation with drugmakers, as allowed under Biden's 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Medicare will pay 38% to 79% below list price for 10 top-selling drugs when the newly negotiated prices take effect in 2026, saving taxpayers a projected $6 billion a year and Medicare beneficiaries $1.5 billion.

Who said what

The first joint appearance by Biden and Harris since the president dropped out of the race was "billed as an official White House policy event," but it "quickly took on the tone and feel of a campaign rally," The Washington Post said. "We finally beat Big Pharma," Biden told the crowd in Largo, Maryland, and "with not one Republican vote in the entire Congress." He called Harris, who provided the tie-breaking Senate vote for the IRA, an "incredible partner in the progress we've made," adding, "she's going to make one hell of a president."

Donald Trump, in a meandering press conference shortly afterward, called the IRA a "con job" and said he was "entitled to personal attacks" on Harris. "I don't have a lot of respect for her intelligence, and I think she'll be a terrible president," he said.

What next?

Medicare plans to negotiate lower prices on 15 more drugs in 2025 and 2026, and 20 drugs in the following years. It's not clear how much the price reductions will help individual beneficiaries, but the IRA's $2,000-a-year cap on personal drug spending and $35 monthly ceiling on insulin costs take effect for Medicare patients next year.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.