President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris speak about their administration’s efforts to lower prescription drug costs during an event at Prince George’s Community College in Largo on August 15, 2024. | Photo credit: Stephanie Ap
Joe Biden shared a significant economic victory with Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris on Thursday (August 15, 2024) after securing a cut in drug prices that could resonate with US voters concerned about the cost of living.
The 81-year-old president and 59-year-old vice president announced the agreement as they prepare for their first joint trip since Mr. Biden’s seismic decision to drop out of the presidential election less than a month ago.
In a joint statement released by the White House, they said the “historic” agreement with drugmakers would lower the price of 10 key drugs for seniors who suffer from conditions including diabetes, heart failure and blood clots.
The agreement would save older Americans $1.5 billion in the first year and $6 billion for the Medicare federal health insurance plan, the statement said.
Though the deal was Mr Biden’s brainchild, he appears to have decided to share the credit with Ms Harris, as she steps up her battle with Republican Donald Trump ahead of the November election.
Ms Harris has already made reducing high prices a key issue in her election campaign and hopes the announcement on drugs will win over voters who have long struggled with inflation.
U.S. residents face some of the highest prescription drug costs in the world, forcing many to pay partially out-of-pocket on top of already exorbitant insurance premiums.
The pair will hail a drug price deal at an event in Maryland – their first meeting together since Mr Biden withdrew from the election following a disastrous debate with Mr Trump.
Highlighting Ms Harris’ role, Mr Biden said this “historic milestone” was possible only because the Post-COVID Inflation Reduction Act was passed by the Congress after his Vice President cast the tie-breaking vote in the Senate.
In her statement, Ms Harris said: “President Biden and I will never stop fighting for the health, well-being, and financial stability of the American people.”
‘Break up with Biden’
The incident came a day before Ms Harris is scheduled to lay out her economic agenda in a speech on Friday, and ahead of her major appearance at the Democratic National Convention next week.
The first female, Black and South Asian vice president of the United States has breathed new life into the Democratic Party after the shock of Mr Biden’s departure.
But while he has erased Trump’s lead in opinion polls and drawn huge crowds to his rallies, he has yet to broadly articulate his policies.
This has so far included largely embracing Mr. Biden’s economic agenda, including his pledge to eliminate “junk fees” and lower the cost of housing.
Ms Harris is also trying to maintain some distance from Mr Biden’s policies and chart her own path.
news outlet Axios It was reported on Wednesday that Ms Harris “wants to break with Mr Biden over issues on which he is unpopular”, top of which is rising prices.
Inflation has dogged Mr Biden’s presidency, with many voters giving him poor ratings on the economy even as his numbers on jobs and growth are good.
In contrast, more people now trust the vice president than Trump to handle the economy, 42% to 41%, according to a Financial Times and University of Michigan poll.
Before he took office, Mr Biden’s support stood at 35%, while Trump’s support remains unchanged.
Trump will try to grab their attention by holding a press conference immediately following the event.
The former Republican president, who survived an assassination attempt on July 13, is still struggling to deal with a messy election campaign after the Democratic Party changed its candidate.
Trump delivered a speech on Wednesday that was intended to focus on the economy – but eventually descended into personal insults, calling Ms Harris a “crazy person”, Mr Biden an “idiot” and Ms Harris’s running mate, Tim Walz, a “clown”.