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).

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.

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.

  • the post of tom joad
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    11 months ago

    Woah woah woah, these articles aren’t useless. These and others like them together form everything a person needs to form a coherent political argument. It isnt propaganda, no no!

    YOU ARE PROPAGANDA.

    see, i can’t tell what your motivations are. You could be a Russian agent or a Xizoomer or even a trumpet! All of those things are more likely than the idea that thisarticle is misinforming the public.

    Because we as americans all know that journalistic integrity is one thing that has never dropped over the last couple decades… Thank God for the telocommunications act of 1996 right?

    Because of that glorious act by clinton, we know and trust our news to be fair unbiased reporting. The billionaires that own these news companies are the best of us citizens, and are in their .001% positions in society because they are the very best of humanity; made of wit and of grit and of integrity.

    If there’s one kind of american i trust to always present news fairly, objectively, and to never, ever twist the truth to grab an extra buck, it’s them. Why would they need to? The truth is, their brilliance and greatness is already evident to all.

    Unlike you, you disgusting troll. I don’t know YOUR motivations at all. Go back to chinastan if you hate America so much