Biden, Harris move to reduce US drug prices

The President of the United States, Joe Biden, shared an important economic victory with the Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris on Thursday after reducing the prices of drugs that could affect US patients worried about the cost of living.

The 81-year-old president and 59-year-old vice president announced the alliance as they prepared to take their first joint trip since Biden made the dramatic decision to withdraw from the presidential race less than last month.

The “historic” agreement with drugmakers will reduce the price of 10 essential medicines for adults, for conditions including diabetes, heart failure and blood pressure, they said in joint statements released by White House.

The deal will save older Americans $1.5 billion and the Medicare health insurance plan $6 billion in the first year, the statement said.

While the deal was Biden’s idea, he seems to have chosen to share the credit with Harris as he fights his battle with Republican Donald Trump ahead of the November election.

Harris has made lowering high prices a key tactic of his election campaign and hopes the drug announcement will win over voters who have long struggled with inflation.

US citizens face the highest drug prices in the world, leaving many people paying a portion out of pocket, despite already high insurance premiums.

The pair will cheer on drug sales at an event in Maryland – their first outing together since Biden withdrew from the election following a nasty debate with Trump.

Biden highlighted Harris’s role, saying the “historic event” was only possible because the Post-Covid Relief Act was passed by Congress after his vice president had a bad vote in the Senate.

Harris added in his statement: “President Biden and I will never stop fighting for the health, well-being and financial stability of the American people.”
‘Sleep with Biden’ –

It comes a day before Harris is scheduled to present his economic plan in a speech on Friday, and ahead of his star turn at the Democratic National Convention next week.
The first female Vice President of the United States, a Black and South Asian Vice President has breathed new life into the Democratic Party after the trauma of Biden’s departure.

But even though he has chipped away at Trump’s lead in opinion polls and drawn large crowds to his rallies, he still has to clarify his policies beyond widespread killings.

That largely includes embracing Biden’s economic agenda, including his pledge to end “unnecessary tariffs” and lower the cost of living.

Harris is also trying to distance himself from Biden’s policies and set his own platform.

News outlet Axios reported Wednesday that Harris wants to “break with Biden on issues he’s not comfortable with,” with rising prices at the top of the list.

Inflation has damaged Biden’s presidency, with many voters giving him a negative rating on the economy despite positive numbers for jobs and growth.

On the other hand, more people now trust the vice president to handle the economy than Trump, by 42 percent to 41 percent, according to a survey by the Financial Times and the University of Michigan.

Before he took the reins, Biden was at 35 percent, while Trump’s number was unchanged.

Trump will try to steal their thunder as he holds a press conference shortly after the event.

The former Republican president, who survived an assassination attempt on July 13, has so far struggled to navigate the re-election campaign after the Democratic Party’s switch of candidates.

Trump gave a speech intended to focus on the economy on Wednesday — but ended up turning to insults, calling Harris a “crazy man,” Biden a “stupid,” and Harris’ running mate Tim Walz a “vice.”

AFP