Biden and Harris on Drug Prices

Good afternoon. Good afternoon, everyone. Can we please applaud Judy?

I love you, Kamala.

I love you back. Oh, it’s good to see so many friends. It is good to see so many friends. And I want to thank… Thank you. Thank you. And let’s please thank… I love you back. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And I know we all thank Judy for sharing her story. I think we all know it takes a very special person who has dedicated over 40 years of their life to do the work that Judy has done as a nurse, that work being what? To care about other people in a way that is about lifting them up and caring about their wellbeing. So Judy, we thank you so very much for being here today. I want to recognize the incredible Governor Wes Moore who’s here with Dawn and their son. And Wes, I’m so thankful to you for all that you do in service to our nation in so many different ways, and your friendship, but in particular to share such a personal story as you have.

(02:21)
And I know it takes a lot out of you to share that story, but to do it in a way that is about lifting up other people and helping hopefully others who are not in this room, understanding how real people are impacted every day about this issue and by this issue. Thank you. I want to recognize that people of our administration, including Secretary Becerra, who is here, the bold administrator, Brooks-LaSure, who is here, my dear friend and former colleague, Senator Ben Cardin, Representative Barragan, the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and Representative Mfume for all of your years of leadership. And I want to recognize your next United States Senator, Angela Alsobrooks. She’s here somewhere. And I’ve worked with her over the years. I’m telling you, Maryland, you’re going to do a great thing when you send her to the United States Senate. And of course, I could speak all afternoon about the person that I am standing on this stage with, our extraordinary president, Joe Biden. And he’s going to speak in a minute, but there’s a lot of love in this room for our president, and I think it’s for many, many reasons, including few leaders in our nation have done more on so many issues, including to expand access to affordable healthcare than Joe Biden. And today we take the next step, thank you, Joe, forward in our fight.

Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe.

So we here, we believe deeply every senior in our nation should be able to live with security, stability, and dignity. And so in the United States of America, no senior should have to choose between either filling their prescription or paying their rent. That’s the subject of today. Because we know for far too long, far too many of our seniors have struggled to afford their medication. And a result, seniors have been forced to spend their time trying to figure out how they are going to be able to fill a prescription like insulin based on the doctor’s prescription, which is about saving their life, or whether they’d have to ration their pills to be able to make it stretch through a month. And why? We all know, but let’s ask. Why are prescription drugs so expensive? I will tell you. Well, one big reason is for years, big pharma has often inflated the price of lifesaving medications, often charging many times what it would cost to make just to increase their profits, and millions of Americans have suffered as a result.

(06:54)
My entire career, I have worked to hold bad actors accountable and lower the cost of prescription drugs. As Attorney General of California, I took on pharmaceutical companies for deceptive marketing and illegally inflating the cost of drugs, and we won billions of dollars. As the United States Senator, I fought to pass laws that would make healthcare more affordable and accessible for all Americans. And as Vice President, together with Joe Biden, our president, we finally addressed the longstanding issue that, for years, was one of the biggest challenges on this subject, which was that Medicare was prohibited by law from negotiating lower drug prices. And those costs then got passed on to our seniors, but not anymore.

(07:57)
Two years ago, we gave Medicare the power to negotiate lower prescription drug prices for the first time in history. And here is why that matters. It is nearly impossible for a patient to negotiate lower prices by themselves. Just think about that. Somebody who needs the medication, who may be suffering from a serious illness, that they would buy themselves, be able to negotiate against a big drug company to lower that prices is virtually impossible. It’s one person against a huge corporation. But Medicare represents more than 65 million people. And so Medicare has collective bargaining power, and now Medicare can use that power to go toe to toe with big pharma and negotiate lower drug prices. Thank you, Joe.

Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe.

Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe.

And this is to the benefit of not only tens of millions of people on Medicare, but also millions of Americans on Medicare who have long-term disabilities. And understand, as a result of our negotiations, the government will also pay less than for prescription drugs. And think about what that means in terms of helping taxpayers save money, whether or not they take these medications. So all of this is to say, two years ago as vice president, I was proud to cast the tie-breaking vote that sent the bill that gave Medicare the power to negotiate and let it get to the president’s desk. And I was proud when our president, Joe Biden, signed that bill into law. In the two years since we’ve been using this new power to lower the price of life-saving medications, and now to announce the result of those negotiations, it is my eternal and great, great, great honor. I have to tell you to serve with this most extraordinary human being, and American, and leader, our president, Joe Biden.

Blown.

(11:03)
We take care of our own.

(11:07)
We take care of our own.

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Wherever this flag’s flown.

(11:08)
We take care of our own.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

From Chicago to New Orleans.

(11:08)
From the muscle to the bone.

Thank you, Kamala. Love you guys, too. I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long, long time. First time I sponsored a bill, let Medicare negotiate the price of drugs, was in 1973 as a freshman senator with a guy named Frank Church from the state of Idaho. Folks, I have an incredible partner. The progress we’ve made? She’s going to make one hell of a president.

(11:42)
And Judy, thank you for sharing your story. It’s a really one for far too many Americans. People like my dad used to lay in bed at night when they lost his insurance, the company he worked for. Stared at the ceiling, literally. And you’ve all experienced… You’ve know people who have experiences, wondering, “What in God’s name happen if my wife gets breast cancer, or if I get sick, or my children get seriously ill, what happens? What in God’s name? How can we pay for the drugs, prescription drugs?”

(12:17)
I’m serious. These are the discussions. You know it. “Do we have enough insurance? Can we afford the medical bills? We’ll have to sell the house or get a second mortgage.” There are discussions that took place in my house and your house. Kamala and I both get it. We know it isn’t just about healthcare, it’s about your dignity. No, it’s about your dignity. It’s about peace of mind. It’s about security. It’s about taking care of your family. It’s about giving folks a little bit more breathing room. Look, I believe that healthcare should be a right, not a privilege, in America. And Kamala are here today to make a major announcement on efforts to lower the extraordinary high prescription drug prices.

(13:10)
Before I do, I want to thank Governor Wes Moore and members of Congress. I served in the Senate for 270 years. I know I only look 40, but I’m a little bit older. The longest time, I was too damn young, because I only like, what? 29 when I got elected. Now I’m too damn old. But I’ll tell you one thing in between. One of the finest, most decent men I’ve ever worked with, I think of him, I think of integrity, is Ben Cardin. Stand up, Ben. Stand up. I really mean it.

(13:47)
I imagine the people I work with by their integrity. He does what he says, and says what he does. Look, folks. Also Nanette Barragán. For longest time, she tried to pretend with me she was Irish named Barragán. She’s a great friend, and she’s one of the great leaders in this country for the Spanish community. Congressman Mfume, where are you? Stand up, man. I’ve never once gone to this man and asked for help, and I haven’t gotten it. Not one single time. Thank you, pal. Thank you. And your soon-to-be senator. Where is she? A hell of a lot easier job than being a county executive. I was a county official. They expect you can solve every problem. You don’t have the authority to do it. You don’t have enough money.

(15:03)
But I hope. I’m looking forward. And I told her I’d campaign for or against, whichever helped the most. Along with members of my administration, Xavier Becerra, HHS. [inaudible 00:15:14] seeing this administrator’s here today. And let me say something. We’re all thinking about my good friend, and he is a really good friend for a long time, Steny Hoyer. He represents the western shore of Delaware. You all think we’re kidding? We have that fight all the time. I wish him a speedy recovery. I understand he’s doing well.

(15:45)
Folks. This is a fight all of us have been fighting for a long time, taking on Big Pharma. We pay more for prescription drugs. It’s not hyperbole. We pay more for prescription drugs than any advanced nation in the world. I could take out an Air Force One, and if you have prescription from a drug company in America, and fly you to Toronto, Canada, fly you to Paris, France, fly you to [inaudible 00:16:14], anywhere around the world, and get you the same prescription bill for the same company for 40-60% less than we pay for it here.

(16:26)
Too many Americans can’t afford the drugs they badly need for life and death. So they skip doses, cut pills in half, forgo prescriptions entirely, because the prescription drugs are totally unaffordable. The woman you all met, the nurse you just met, she paid $9,000. I mean she’ll be $900 a month. Well, guess what, man? She’s going to pay nowhere near that $9,000. She’s going to pay, guess what? Beginning January, every single prescription drug she has, including, God forbid, if she needs a really expensive drug, like a cancer drug, maximum she ever has to pay is $2,000, period.

(17:14)
That’s right. From the time I was in the Senate, I worked tirelessly to give Medicare the power to negotiate lower drug prices, just like the Department of Veterans Affair. In fact, was reminded by staff today. One of the first major bills I worked on was in 1973. I co-sponsored legislation led by Senator Frank Church, let Medicare negotiate the cost of drugs. 1973, this fight’s been going on. The VA pays, as they should, 50% less than Medicare, because VA can negotiate the prices. But for years, Big Pharma blocked Medicare from negotiating lower drug prices. The consequence? They’re able to maintain the exorbitant price increases,

… and the profits are uncalled for. Look, at this time, we finally beat Big Pharma and I might add with no help from Republicans. Not a single Republican voted for this bill, period. Not one in the entire Congress.

(18:26)
Now, the reason I say that is not to make a political point about them, if they had gotten their lesson, but guess what? The guy we’re running against. What’s his name? Donald Dump or Donald whatever. They want to get rid of this, what we passed. They’re fighting to get rid of what we’ve just passed. No, I’m serious. No help from Republicans passed the Inflation Reduction Act thanks to the tie-breaking vote of Kamala made it possible.

(18:56)
Folks, it really matters. For example, take the insulin needed to treat diabetes. A guy who invented that insulin a hundred years ago didn’t put a patent on it because he wanted it to be available for everybody. He didn’t even patent it. Well, guess. You know how much it cost those companies to make that insulin? $10. T-E-N. That’s the God’s truth, $10, number one. Number two, to package it and ship it, you might get it up to $13. But they were charging up to 400 bucks a month for it, but now they can’t charge more than $35 a month. It’s a big deal.

Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe.

$35 a month. These guys still make enormous profits. That’s three times what it cost them to make it. The initial legislation capped the cost for everyone who needed that insulin. How many of you know anybody needs insulin for diabetes? Raise your hand.

(20:11)
Okay. Well, guess what? For the next three months we got here, I’m not leaving here and Kamala when she’s president, going to make sure if we don’t get it done, everybody should qualify for that $35 a month. Every American. I mean it. Folks, that’s not all. The same law we wrote means starting in January of this year, every senior in the United States of America, no matter what their cost of drugs, and like I said, some of these cancer drugs are 12,000 bucks a year. Every single penny they spend, they never have to spend more than $2,000 a year for all drugs. All drugs. And we’re going to fight to make sure everyone qualifies for that as well. Look. All together, our reforms not only save lives, but here’s the point people don’t talk enough about. It saves the taxpayers billions of dollars. What we’ve done so far will save the taxpayers over the next 10 years, $160 billion, tax payers, lowering the debt. And I mean it because they don’t have to pay the exorbitant price that Medicare had to pay before. They’re going to pay $35 instead of 400 bucks. Folks, and those statements are only going to increase for American taxpayers because it matters.

(21:40)
Look, but that’s not all the Inflation Reduction Act did. Last summer, I announced under that law, Medicare is going to select and it’s already passed law, 10 drugs a year going up to 20 till we get every single drug every year. Drugs treat from everything from heart failure, blood clots, kidney disease, arthritis, blood cancers, and more. And today I’m proud to announce that Medicare has reached an agreement with all manufacturers on all 10 drugs selected in the first round of negotiations.

(22:16)
The new lower prices for all 10 drugs will go in effect in January of 2026, not this January, next January. Negotiations cut the price of these 10 drugs for Judy and others who are Medicare, nearly 40 to 80%, depending which drug it is.

(22:32)
Let me give you one example. Non-insulin diabetes drugs cost $530 a month. Some of you may know that. Guess what? It’s now only going to cost $115. By the way, these new prices on 10 drugs will cumulatively mean $1.5 billion less out of pocket for patients to the drug companies. Lower co-pays for many of the nine million seniors who take these drugs, but that’s not all. We’re also saving the American taxpayer because of the new changes. Six billion a year because Medicare won’t have to pay out that much. Imagine that. Six billion a year.

(23:20)
But we could do that for child care and health care and so much more. We’re just getting started. Under the law I signed, Medicare can negotiate lower prices for another 15 drugs next year, 15 the following, and 20 after that until every drug is covered. That’s the law now. Now.

(23:41)
This is another really big deal. It means that Americans can save more money and from life-saving medications they need and deserve and bring peace of mind. It’s hard to explain. Kamala and I are going to keep fighting to lower the prescription drug costs for everyone, not just seniors. It’s a fight that we have to continue.

(23:59)
Folks, but guess what? Surprise, surprise. Big Pharma doesn’t want this to happen at all. The pharmaceutical industry last year spent $400 million lobbying to Congress to stop this. Four hundred million. Worked pretty well. They didn’t get one Republican voted against them. They all voted for them. Republican allies stuck with them and the ability of the federal government to negotiate lower drug prices was tried to be stopped. But Kamala and I and all of us in this room are going to keep standing up for Big Pharma. I fought too damn hard to yield now. We’re not backing down. And get this. You may have heard about the MAGA Republican Project 2025 plan. They want to repeal Medicare’s power to negotiate drug prices. Let Big Pharma back to charge them whatever they want. Let me tell you what our Project 2025 is: Beat the hell out of them. I mean it.

(25:13)
Or in January ’25, total prescription drug costs will be capped at 2,000 a year no matter how expensive they are. And some are expensive as 12 a year, 12,000 a month, I should say. Kamala Harris and Democrats in Congress will make sure that $2,000 cap covers everyone, not just seniors as well. Insulin costs, that’s 35 for everyone, not just seniors. Our Project 25 will lower prescription drug costs for you, your families, instead of handing Big Pharma a big, blank check.

(25:55)
And look. And in the process, this is what we don’t talk enough about, I don’t think. In the process, we’re going to save the taxpayer. The budget’s going to be reduced by hundreds of billions of dollars. Hear me? Hundreds of billions of dollars. Just the first year. The first thing we pass is $160 billion less that the government’s going to have to pay out to Pharma.

(26:21)
But guess what? It could pay out for education. It could pay out for health care. It could pay out for so much more, or it can just simply reduce the deficit he has exploded. Folks, that’s what I call a win.

(26:35)
Folks, there’s more. My predecessor and his MAGA friends in Congress tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which is a different. Obamacare, they tried to repeal it over 50 times. We stopped them. Along the way, I made the Affordable Care Act even stronger, protecting million more Americans with preexisting conditions. And guess what? There’s over 40 million.

(26:59)
MAGA Republicans

The Republicans in Congress don’t want to cut Medicare, and so they want to cut Medicare and social security. Why? They want to give another… Here’s what they’re proposing. Just so you know what the budget is, they’re proposing another five-trillion-dollar tax cut for the mega-wealthy. By the way, this guy we’re running against, when he was president, he gave a two-trillion-dollar tax cut to the super-wealthy. You know what that was? He generated the largest deficit any president has in American history. I love these Republicans talking about cutting spending. You know, we have a thousand billionaires in America. You know what their average tax they pay is? 8.2%.

(27:49)
I introduced a bill to say that you got to pay a minimum 25%. You know what that would raise? $500 billion over the next 10 years. Imagine what we could do with that. Imagine the taxes we could cut for ordinary people. Well look, Kamala and I have a better idea, we’re going to protect Medicare and social security and make sure the wealthy pay their fair share. That’s how we’re going to pay for it. And by the way, that means making the tax code fair. Look, in addition, we also announced steps to crack down on anti-competitive practice in healthcare. How many of you know we’ve been going after things called junk fees? Junk health insurance plans, ones that look affordable, when you take the cover off, you find out there’s a number of hidden costs. We’re going after them and trying to get rid of them. We’re also cracking down on surprise medical billing. For example, when a patient goes in the hospital for surgery, if it turns out his anesthesiologist is not in his network, you’re going to get a surprise bill for another $1000, but we’re stopping that too. We’re protecting one million Americans every month from unexpected medical bills. We’re working to ban the use of medical debt on credit reporting. Years ago, I had two craniotomies because I had aneurysms. My bill, if I didn’t have insurance, was in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Well, guess what? It matters. It matters whether or not if I didn’t have insurance, the rest of my life, I couldn’t do anything.

That’s right.

I wouldn’t be able to buy anything. Wouldn’t be able to have a credit… Wouldn’t be able to… Now we’re going to get rid of healthcare costs being on your… You have to still owe it, but you don’t get your credit, doesn’t affected by it.

(29:50)
Look, I’m a capitalist. I have no problem with companies making money, but not by price gouging seniors and working families. I grew up in a family where my dad used to say, “Joey, your job is about a lot more than a paycheck.”

That’s right.

“It’s about your dignity.”

Yeah.

“It’s about respect.” And I really mean this. This is what he would say. My dad was a well-read guy who never got a chance to go to college. He’d talk about what we needed to do for ordinary, hard-working people. We changed the whole way we look at the economy. Used to be this idea of trickle-down economics. Even Democrats accepted it. Some Democratic presidents accepted it. If you’re wealthy, makes a lot of money, it’ll trickle down on the rest of us. Well, I didn’t notice a single penny trickle down on my dad’s kitchen table. But guess what now? We measure everything in the following way. We bill from the middle out and the bottom up, and if they do well, everybody does well. Not a joke. And any money I get to spend as president, I spend it on being made in America by Americans. Americans don’t like being played for suckers. We believe we should be patient, but there should be reasonable profits, not unreasonable. Look, let me close with this. It’s all about healthcare. It’s about lowering costs for families. It’s about fairness and security. It’s about the dignity for people like Judy and millions of Americans all across the country. That’s exactly what we’re doing. There’s more we can do for everyone. We can’t give up. They told me every major piece of legislation we pass to give us the strongest economy in the history and the strongest economy in the world. We got more to do for working people.

(31:39)
By the way, everybody does better when there’s more unions. But we’re finally getting it done. We can’t stop now. We just have to remember who in the hell we are. We’re the United States of America. And there is nothing, nothing beyond our capacity in this country when we work together. Nothing, nothing, nothing. I’ll tell you what, I thank God that in the last three months I’m President of the United States, I was able to finally get done what I tried to get done when I was a young senator at 30 years old. Thank you God, thank you. God bless you all and may God protect our troops.

Your love lifting me higher.

(32:29)
Than I’ve ever been lifted before.

(32:29)
So keep it up, quench my desire.

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And I’ll be at your side forevermore.

(32:29)
You know your love your love keeps lifting me.

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Keep on lifting me your love keeps lifting me.

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Higher, higher and higher lifting me higher and higher, higher.

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I said your love your love keeps lifting me.

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Keep on your love keeps lifting me.

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Lifting me lifting me.

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Higher and higher higher and higher, higher.

(32:29)
Listen, now once, I was downhearted.

(32:29)
Disappointment was my closest friend.

(32:29)
But then, you came and it soon departed.

(32:29)
And you know he never showed his face again.

(32:29)
That’s why your love your love keeps lifting me.

(32:29)
Keep on lifting your love keeps lifting me.

(32:29)
Higher, higher and higher lifting me higher and higher, higher.

(32:29)
I said your love your love keeps lifting me.

(32:29)
Keep on your love keeps lifting me.

(32:29)
Lifting me lifting me.

(32:29)
Higher and higher, alright higher and higher, higher.

(32:29)
I’m so glad, I’ve finally-