Biden praises Harris in first joint event, saying she will make “one hell of a president”
President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris appeared together in their first public event since she replaced him as the Democratic nominee, touting the administration’s new plan to lower prescription drug prices for Americans on Medicare.
Appearing at Prince George’s County Community College in Maryland, an untethered Mr. Biden praised Harris, saying she will make “one hell of a president.”
Mr. Biden and Harris announced the outcome of the first Medicare drug price negotiation as part of the administration’s efforts to lower costs for Americans.
according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
The president said he could fly Americans to Canada or France to get the very same drugs for far cheaper than the “totally unaffordable” ones in the U.S.
“Kamala and I both get it. We know it isn’t just about health care — it’s about your dignity,” the president said, adding that he believes health care “should be a right, not a privilege in America.”
Although the White House is touting the savings for prescription drugs, seniors weren’t paying full price for such drugs before the negotiations and the negotiations won’t affect Americans who aren’t on Medicare.
“Kamala and I and all of us in this room are going to continue standing up to Big Pharma,” Mr. Biden told the crowd in Maryland. “I’ve fought too damn hard to yield now.”
Harris, who vaulted to the top of the Democratic ticket less than a month ago when Mr. Biden announced he wouldn’t be running for reelection, said in a statement that the administration isn’t stopping here, with plans to select additional drugs for price negotiations each year. The White House has also touted extending the $35 cap on insulin for Medicare recipients to the commercial market.
While Harris hit the campaign trail in the aftermath of the president’s announcement that he would not run for reelection, Mr. Biden has largely kept out of the spotlight, yielding the stage to Harris. But Mr. Biden, no longer worried about his reelection prospects, spoke his mind on Monday.
“You may have heard about the MAGA Republican Project 2025 plan,” Mr. Biden said, to boos. “They want to repeal Medicare’s power to negotiate drug prices, let Big Pharma get back to charging whatever they want. Let me tell ya what our Project 2025 is — beat the hell out of ’em.”
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Source: cbsnews.com