Lots of Americans say they are prepared to vote against President Joe Biden in November. Among the many reasons seems to be a persistent belief that Biden has accomplished “not very much” or “little or nothing” (according to an ABC-Washington Post poll from the summer), or that his policies have actually hurt people (according to a Wall Street Journal poll from last month).
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I suspect most Americans do grasp that Biden supports and wants to strengthen “Obamacare,” while his likely opponent ― i.e., Trump, currently the GOP front-runner ― still wants to get rid of it. But most Americans seem unaware that Biden and the Democrats have also been working to make insulin cheaper, through a pair of changes that are already taking effect.
The first of these arrived as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, the sweeping 2022 climate and health care legislation that included several initiatives to reduce the price of prescription drugs. Among them was a provision guaranteeing that Medicare beneficiaries ― that is, seniors and people with disabilities ― could get insulin for just $35 a month.
The provision took effect a year ago and, at the time, the administration estimated that something like 1.5 million seniors stood to save money from it. Indeed, there’s already evidence that fewer seniors are rationing their own insulin in order to save money. But as of August, polling from the health research organization KFF found that just 24% of Americans knew the $35 cap existed.
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As of Jan. 1, the three companies that dominate the market (Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi) have all lowered prices and made some of their products available to non-elderly, non-disabled Americans for the same $35 a month that Medicare beneficiaries now pay. The companies announced these changes last year, presenting them as a voluntary action to show they want to make sure customers can get lifesaving drugs.
But by nearly all accounts, it was primarily a reaction to an obscure policy change in Medicaid, the joint federal-state program for low-income people. The effect of the tweak was to penalize drug companies financially if they had been raising commercial prices too quickly.
It’s not JUST insulin though. Diabetes runs in my family, so I grew up experiencing all the highs and lows. (HA! BEETUS JOKE!)
EVERYTHING about managing it is expensive. The needles are expensive, the test strips are STUPID expensive, as are the meters and CGM systems.
Imagine this… you’re a type 1 and have to test multiple times a day.
$38 for 90 strips. Now that doesn’t sound AWFUL, does it? Except a type 1 is supposed to test at least 4 times a day… Suddenly those 90 strips aren’t even a full months supply. I’ve seen folks test 6 times a day, now that 90 strips lasts 15 days.
And $38 for 90 is CHEAP. They can easily run $1 a strip.
This article feels a little like a backhanded compliment.
Yes, i really dislike the articles tone, as if we are children. Overall vibe is like Mom telling me how good broccoli is for me and anyhow im not eaving till i eat it anyway so id better get going before it gets cold
“REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! AFFORDABLE LIFE SAVING MEDICINE IS SOCIALISMMM!!!1”
-GQP
HISSSS…SOCIALISM!!! lol
FOX NEWS ALERT: BIDEN INCREASES PRICE OF INSULIN!
NEWSMAX BREAKING NEWS: VOTING FOR BIDEN CAUSES TYPE I DIABETES!
Bbubut he’s 80 and cognitively impaired!
/s
They wont.
Of course they won’t. The types of people who oppose Biden mindlessly only either pay attention to news sources which will never cover this or they don’t consume news at all. They are idiots (largely) and to reach idiots takes something much more stark
Lets socialize pharmaceutical production these fucks are literally killing us and holding back life saving treatments for corporate profits.
Still doesn’t negate him condoning and funding genocide, funding endless proxy war and starting another, and telling us we are not struggling while ignoring our pleas.
Listening to the masses? That’s the first step towards communism, you godless commie. listening to what the property and business owners say is what the fondant fathers and jesus died for
O let us love our occupations,
Bless the squire and his relations,
Live upon our daily rations,
And always know our proper stations.
Biden has been great
Great for the donor class, not so much for the working
Yeah, IDK if helping less than 1% of Americans is enough. If it makes sense for insulin why doesn’t it make sense for every other drug that big pharma has exorbitant prices for?
Well, any actual path from here to there can only be traveled one step at a time.
Cheaper for Boomers? Fucking goodie.
Many people who need insulin aren’t on Medicare, of course. But now, non-Medicare patients also have access to cheaper insulin, thanks to the way another policy implementation has played out.
As of Jan. 1, the three companies that dominate the market (Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi) have all lowered prices and made some of their products available to non-elderly, non-disabled Americans for the same $35 a month that Medicare beneficiaries now pay. The companies announced these changes last year, presenting them as a voluntary action to show they want to make sure customers can get lifesaving drugs.
But by nearly all accounts, it was primarily a reaction to an obscure policy change in Medicaid, the joint federal-state program for low-income people. The effect of the tweak was to penalize drug companies financially if they had been raising commercial prices too quickly.
“This is a smart PR move and to some extent a response to market pressure… but drug companies are not lowering insulin prices to be generous,” KFF executive vice president Larry Levitt told me in an email. “They’re lowering prices to avoid paying rebates to Medicaid programs and therefore maximize profits.”
So if you’re not old or poor, continue to pay hundreds in either scam insurance fees or scam MSRP insulin prices lol.
Also I could be wrong, but I believe the old (medi-X) price was around $50-$60. So at least that’s an improvment.
All of meds went down since the beginning of the new year. Some of them significantly.
Turns out Republicans are very efficient manipulators.
Or Democrats absolutely suck at messaging.
Or both…
this narrative of “joe biden is actually great for everyone it’s just that everyone is too stupid to notice how great they have it” while we’re slowly being muscled out of the economy sounds like a french aristocrat’s last plea from the scaffold.
Hah!
biden 2024
that doesn’t sound trumpy at all
1/4th of Americans know about it? That sounds like a lot considering it’s something that impacts far fewer than that.
