Hundreds of thousands of older Americans could pay less for some of their outpatient drug treatments beginning early next year, the Biden administration announced Thursday.

The White House unveiled a list of 48 drugs — from chemotherapy treatments to growth hormones used to treat endocrine disorders — whose prices increased faster than the rate of inflation this year. Under a new law, drugmakers will have to pay rebates to the federal government because of those price increases. The money will be used to lower the price Medicare enrollees pay on the drugs early next year.

“For years, there’s been no check on how high or how fast big pharma can raise drug prices,” President Joe Biden said Thursday, speaking in a lab at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. “Let’s call this for what it is – it simply is a rip off. They’re ripping off Medicare. They’re ripping off the American people. We’re now fighting back.”

  • qooqie@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    So the very people holding healthcare hostage get to reap the benefits? Ooookay. It is a good thing don’t get me wrong just makes me sad 🙁

    • Caradoc879@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      It’s all just talk. If Biden really cared he would have spent his career helping instead of upholding the status quo. He’s just generating buzz for next year. It’s all meaningless.

      That said, better Biden than Trump.

      • qooqie@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Biden has spent most of his presidency helping, it’s a slow process because if you do it all at once republicans will freak the fuck out. With how he’s doing it, it’s working and I’m happy for it. I think he clearly cares, but he also knows he has to play politics to make sure it stays and is effective

          • qooqie@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            Yeah no shit who cares but unfortunately for you and me they hold power. And if you want progress to stay you need to make them not freak out. It’s like working with someone with dementia, anything out of the norm will scare them so you take it real slow

              • qooqie@lemmy.world
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                10 months ago

                Never said to work with republicans you just need to move slow to keep your progress or they’ll screech and you’ll lose any progress made. I want the progress made to stay rather then only stay for a single term or two