Biden and Harris celebrate landmark agreement to lower drug prices | US healthcare

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris presented themselves as champions of the rights of American seniors in the David versus Goliath battle against big pharmaceutical companies at a joint event on Thursday to promote a groundbreaking agreement to lower prescription drug costs.

“We have finally beaten the big pharmaceutical companies,” the US president announced as he appeared on stage with his vice president for the first time since the latter gave up his candidacy for re-election at the end of July and Harris replaced him as the Democratic candidate.

The event, which came after a morning announcement of lower drug prices for beneficiaries of Medicare, a government health insurance program for seniors, was an opportunity to convince voters that their government has helped lower costs after years of high inflation. Health care, particularly the high cost of prescription drugs, is a top concern for U.S. voters. Biden had a slight lead over Donald Trump with his program all year before he dropped out of the race.

Harris spoke first, calling Biden “our extraordinary president” as the crowd packed into the Prince George's Community College gymnasium rose to applaud the president. “Thank you, Joe,” they chanted in recognition – according to several attendees – of his accomplishment and his decision to step down and pass the torch to Harris.

Biden called Harris an “incredible partner” and said she would “make a damn good president.”

“We have finally addressed the long-standing problem that has been one of the biggest challenges in this area for years: Medicare was legally prevented from negotiating lower drug prices, and those costs were then passed on to our retirees,” Harris said. “But that is now over.”

The 10 drugs under negotiation, including widely used blood thinners and diabetes medications, are expected to save Medicare, a major government health insurance program for Americans over 65 and people with certain disabilities, $6 billion, the government said, and seniors are expected to save $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs.

The negotiated prices, which will take effect in 2026, were approved by the Inflation Reduction Act, which Biden stressed passed without a single Republican vote. The vice president, in her capacity as president of the Senate, cast the deciding vote.

“We pay far too much for prescription drugs in America,” said Health Secretary Xavier Becerra.

Before Biden and Harris spoke, Maryland officials and politicians celebrated the deal and thrilled the crowd with discreet references to Harris' candidacy.

“President is a good title for her,” said outgoing Maryland Senator Ben Cardin with a wink, thanking Harris for her help in passing the Democrats' comprehensive health and climate change bill.

Biden, simultaneously touting his record in office and passing the torch, warned that if Trump – whom the president derided as “the guy we're running against, what's his name again? Donald Dump?” – won a second term, he would repeal Medicare's power to negotiate drug prices, citing the sweeping conservative policy program, Project 2025, from which Trump has tried to distance himself.

“Let me tell you what our project is in 2025: We have to give them hell,” Biden said to loud applause.

Republican lawmakers have been sharply critical of the Biden administration's move, arguing that government-negotiated drug prices would hamper innovation and result in fewer life-saving drugs being brought to market.

In a joint statement, Republicans in the House of Representatives accused Biden of “price fixing.”

“Make no mistake, price fixing has failed in every sector and in every country where it has ever been tried,” said the statement from House Speaker Mike Johnson and the Republican leadership team. “The Biden-Harris administration says it wants to lower prices for families, but its prescription drug price fixing scheme has only done two things: drive up health care costs and stifle American innovation in medicine.”

The double act drew an enthusiastic audience, with hundreds of people waiting in the summer heat to catch a glimpse of the President's final act and the Vice President's ascension.

“I have waited a very, very long time for this moment,” Biden said, noting that as a freshman senator, shortly after his election in 1972, he first introduced a bill that would have allowed Medicare to negotiate drug prices.

“For a long time I was just too young because I was only 29 when I was elected,” he said. “Now I'm just too old.”

The negotiated prices, which take effect in 2026, are expected to save the taxpayer-funded Medicare program billions of dollars. But they will provide direct out-of-pocket savings for only a portion of the millions of older Americans who take the negotiated drugs. Health care costs in the United States have been rising for decades, and Americans spend more than $13,000 annually on medical services and drugs.

The law already caps the co-payment for insulin for Medicare patients at $35 per month. It also sets a $2,000 cap on drug spending.

Earlier this week, Harris and Biden attended a briefing to discuss the situation in the Middle East and appeared together on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews to welcome home U.S. citizens wrongfully detained in Russia.

In the election campaign, the economy and the cost of living remain the top issues for voters as Democrats try to convince them that the president's economic policies have had an impact on their wallets. Democrats cheered news of easing inflation on Wednesday. Consumer prices rose 2.9% in July, falling below 3% for the first time since 2021, new government data showed. But Americans continue to suffer from the high costs of rent and groceries.

On Friday, Harris will travel to North Carolina to deliver an economic policy speech in which her campaign called for a federal ban on excessive food prices. Although Trump had an advantage over Biden on the economy, recent polls suggest Harris has recovered much of his initial lead.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore introduced Biden and Harris, calling them the 46th and 47th presidents of the United States, which prompted shouts of “48” – a promising sign for the Democrats’ charismatic rising star.

Linda Hunt, 80, said she rarely came to political events but to witness history.

“I came to pay my respects – that's the most important thing, but I also wanted to see and hear her in person,” she said. “It was historic.”