Biden, Harris hail lower Medicare drug prices and each other

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris made a joint appearance in Maryland, not so far from Washington and the White House, on Thursday. 

Nominally, it was to announce changes to the way Medicare acquires prescription drugs, with the government saying it drastically reduces the prices they're paying. 

But the event also morphed into mutual praise and campaign rhetoric, as the pair shared a stage just a few weeks after Biden's decision to withdraw from the race and Harris emerging in his place. 

"She can make one hell of a president," Biden said of his 2020 running mate, saying the goal for the November 5 vote was to "beat the hell out of" the Republican opponent.

Harris, meanwhile, delivered more brief remarks in a show of deference to the president, saying it had been her honor to serve under the "most extraordinary human being." 

"There's a lot of love in this room for our president," Harris, set to be formally confirmed at the Democrats' party convention next week in Chicago, said. 

US says Medicare can now source key drugs far more cheaply

Biden and Harris presented negotiated lower prices for 10 of the most commonly purchased prescription drugs used by Medicare—in one case, for what the US government claims to be a 79% savings.

The change was a part of the far-reaching "Inflation Reduction Act," signed into law in 2022, and the new prices should go into effect starting next year. 

The US government estimates savings of approximately $6 billion (roughly €5.5 billion) in the first year alone. 

Chants of "thank you, Joe" could be heard as Biden addressed the community college crowd in the city of Largo. 

"We finally beat Big Pharma," Biden said at the event.

Industry, Republicans had resisted the changes

"My entire career, I have worked to hold bad actors accountable and lower the cost of prescription drugs," Harris said. "Medicare can use that [collective bargaining] power to go toe-to-toe with Big Pharma and negotiate lower drug prices." 

Harris had to cast the Vice President's special 101st vote in the Senate — the last-resort tie-breaking mechanism if a Senate vote is locked at 50-50 — in order for the changes to come into effect, after no Republican Senators supported it. 

She stressed this in Largo on Thursday, as Democrats seek to portray themselves as the party trying to keep people's medical bills down.

Republicans alleged that the changes amounted more to "price-fixing," arguing it could ultimately drive prices higher, and supporting industry lobbyists' warnings about it discouraging research and innovation on new medications. 

What medication has the change impacted, and how much? 

The biggest price drop listed by the government was for Merck and Co's diabetes drug Januvia, decreasing by 79%. 

Novo Nordisk's insulin aspart products were set for the second-steepest fall, at 76%. 

Eight other listed medications would be bought at rates cut by between 38% and 68%, according to the government.

The true extent of the savings made isn't transparent, though. The US government's price comparisons are against list prices for the drugs, not against whatever price Medicare had previously paid, information the government says it can't divulge. 

However, the government says its estimated overall savings to spending do take the previous purchasing prices into account. 

Medicare is a federal health insurance program in the US mostly for people over the age of 65, but also for younger people with disabilities. It's estimated to cover or partially cover more than 60 million people. 

More than half of US voters in 2020 were aged 50 or older, so nearing the eligibility age for Medicare themselves.

Healthcare is estimated to account for about 8% of Americans' household spending, or around 16% of national GDP — making it the most expensive major developed economy in the world when seeking medical assistance.

People with health insurance in the US still typically have medical bills to pay, with prescriptions among these.

But the idea is that Medicare can at least pass list-price savings, or a share of them, on to end users. 

msh/lo (AFP, AP, Reuters)