At a rally in Prince George's County, Biden and Harris announce lower drug prices for millions of Medicare beneficiaries

By PAUL RUFFINS

On Thursday, August 15thPresident Biden and Vice President Harris held a rally at Prince George's Community College in Largo to announce their success in lowering prescription drug prices for seniors with Medicare.

Biden argued that the price cuts would save U.S. taxpayers nearly $160 billion over the next decade by reducing government copayments for drugs for the 67 million Medicare beneficiaries.

It was the first joint appearance by the president and vice president since Biden ended his re-election campaign on July 21 and endorsed Harris.

There was not a single “Harris for President” sign at the event, and the White House invitations said no signs were allowed outside. Each of the hundreds of official placards behind the stage read, “Reduce the cost of prescription drugs.”

One participant, Terri Jones, told Streetcar Suburbs, “I came to my President Joe Biden for insulin. I used to pay $600 a month, now I pay $35.”

Biden argued that he and Harris had successfully taken on “Big Pharma.”

“I've been waiting a long time for this,” he explained. “The first time I sponsored a bill to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices was as a freshman senator in 1973, working with a man named Frank Church.” Church was a Democratic senator from Idaho from 1957 to 1981.

Biden said if someone in the audience had a prescription drug from an American company, “I could put you on Air Force One and fly you to Toronto or Paris, and you could get the same drug for 40 to 60 percent less than you would pay for it here.”

He explained that the Veterans Administration gets prescription drugs 50% cheaper than Medicare because the VA can negotiate prices, which Medicare previously couldn't. And that a month's supply of insulin, which sells for $600, costs about $10 to produce, plus another $3-4 for packaging and shipping.

“Now,” he said, “it costs $35, and the drug companies are still making three times the cost of producing it.”

Biden focused on the price of insulin, which has already fallen thanks to his efforts and those of former President Trump. On the same day as the rally, the White House hosted released renegotiated prices for 10 commonly prescribed drugs covered by Medicare Part D. Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 allowed Medicare to negotiate drug prices.

Starting in January 2026, the maximum price for Imbruvica, used to treat blood cancer, will drop by 38%, and the price of common diabetes drugs will drop by more than 76%, according to Medicare fact sheets.

Biden said 10 more drugs will be added each year until the price of each drug under Medicare Part D is negotiated.

Before introducing Biden, Harris described her own role in the fight. “For years, the pharmaceutical industry has often inflated the prices of life-saving drugs, charging many times the cost of manufacturing them to increase their profits,” Harris said. “As Attorney General of California, I cracked down on deceptive marketing and illegally inflated drug prices, and we won billions of dollars.”

Despite the prescription drug advertisements, many people in the large and enthusiastic crowd – which was mostly black and mostly women – viewed the event as a Harris campaign rally.

Dianne Fink, executive director of Emerge Maryland, an organization that prepares Democratic women to run, said, “There has been an incredible surge of energy since Kamala became the candidate. The campaign just feels very different than it did just a few weeks ago.”

Sharonda Huffman, a graduate of the program and a delegate to the upcoming Democratic National Convention, said, “Republicans have been criticizing Vice President Harris for not providing enough details, so this is an opportunity to give a preview of her agenda for the convention next week.”

The event also highlighted the influence of black Democrats in Maryland through comments from Governor Wes Moore and Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, who is running for Senate against former Republican Governor Larry Hogan.

However, the rally was not just a love festival.

Immigrant rights group CASA led the largest group of protesters opposing border security efforts. A Green Party supporter shouted that Jill Stein was the only candidate who supported expanding health care to all. A small group of pro-life activists condemned the administration's abortion policies, and some people repeatedly interrupted Biden's speech with shouts of “What about Gaza? What about Gaza?” But the crowd drowned them out with chants of “Thank you, Joe,” a refrain heard throughout the afternoon.