Relief for Diabetes Patients: Biden Champions $35 Insulin Cap in Bid to Ease Healthcare Costs

President Joe Biden seldom speaks about insulin pricing these days. In remarks in the White House, on campaign visits, and even at non-medical gatherings around the nation, Obama advocates for a $35 price cap for Medicare-eligible Americans' prescription drugs. Ads citing it, in both English and Spanish, have been broadcast on swing-state radio stations by his reelection team.

It would appear that all of that would have a significant political and economic impact. The truth is more nuanced.

Biden's team frequently exaggerates the amount that those qualified for the price ceiling previously spent for insulin in an effort to highlight what it perceives as a benefit over the likely Republican nominee, Donald Trump. Furthermore, even in the most hotly fought states, where the outcome may depend on a few thousand votes, it is unclear if the number of Americans receiving aid will be sufficient to influence the election in November.

Numerous individuals who are profiting from the price cap were either previously receiving insulin at a discounted rate, were already supporters of Biden, or both. Conversely, those without Medicare or private health insurance are unable to obtain reduced-price insulin.

In contrast to Trump, who initially ran for president on a platform of lowering medicine prices but did not do much to further that goal while in office, Biden's campaign has focused on the president's successful efforts to slash insulin prices.

Price Reductions

Approximately 8.4 million Americans use insulin to regulate their blood sugar levels, and over a million have Type 1 diabetes and would die without regular access to the drug. Nearly 4 million senior citizens, according to the White House, are eligible for the new, reduced rate.

The Inflation Reduction Act, which initially aimed to set insulin at $35 for everyone with health insurance, included a price cap for Medicare beneficiaries. Republicans in Congress limited its scope when it was approved in 2022, making it just applicable to elderly people.

Additionally, the Biden administration announced agreements with Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly, and Sanofi to restrict the co-payment for insulin for those with private insurance at $35. More than 90% of the US insulin market is made up of these.

However, Biden frequently overstates the number of people who once paid up to $400 each month. According to a Department of Health and Human Services survey published in December 2022, diabetics with private insurance or Medicare spent an average of $452 yearly rather than monthly.

The president points out that those without health insurance were primarily impacted by the high costs. However, due to the Obama administration's landmark health care law and the Biden White House's vigorous efforts to guarantee that individuals who are eligible are enrolling more regularly, the rates of uninsured people have dropped to all-time lows.

Essentially, this means that the economic case for one government policy proposal is being undermined by another.

Bipartisan legislation, sponsored by Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., aims to make the $35 insulin cap universal, including for those without health insurance. He said that in the meanwhile, the agreement reached by pharmaceutical companies and Medicare beneficiaries to lower their costs is "literally saving lives and saving people money."

Biden's Primary Issues

According to Biden's reelection campaign pollster Geoff Garin, one of the president's best-performing policies is the insulin limit. The information was "clear, consistent, and overwhelming," he added.

The president's top priority among older people, according to Rich Fiesta, executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, which has backed Biden, is the insulin limit.

The Trump campaign remained silent when questioned. The conservative Paragon Health Institute's senior fellow Theo Merkel, however, said that the insulin price decrease was an example of "policies written to fit the talking points other than the other way around."

Merkel, a former Trump White House health policy advisor, stated that insulin producers that have produced insulin for a long time support limitations on insured pay amounts because it provides them greater negotiating power with insurance providers.

Although the president's favor ratings on health care are among his strongest across a variety of subjects, a February survey from The Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that only 42% of American adults approve of Biden's handling of health care, while 55% disapprove.

While just 26% of respondents in the same study said they were aware of the insulin price cap, KFF discovered in its own research conducted in December that 59% of American adults believe the Democratic Party would handle health care cost difficulties better than the Republican Party, with 39% of respondents holding this view.