Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders Tout Inhaler Price Drops as They Join Forces to Promote Lower Health Care Costs

By Jace Dela Cruz

Apr 04, 2024 05:08 AM EDT

President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders joined forces on Wednesday to promote lower health care costs, including inhalers, as Biden continues to woo voters with his legislative achievements ahead of the November elections.

President Biden Speaks At The White House On Health Care Costs — WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 03: U.S. President Joe Biden and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-VT) deliver remarks about their work to lower the cost of breathing treatments for asthma and COPD patients during an event with healthcare advocates and stakeholders in the Indian Treaty Room in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on April 03, 2024 in Washington, DC. "
(Photo : Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Joe Biden Teams up With Bernie Sanders to Promote Lower Health Care Costs

During an event at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building adjacent to the White House, Joe Biden shared his and Bernie Sanders' longstanding advocacy to lower the cost of health care needs.

"Bernie, you and I have been fighting this for 25 years... Finally we beat Big Pharma," Biden told Sanders, as the Associated Press reported.

Both Biden and Sanders touted the lower health care costs that resulted from the Democrats' Inflation Reduction Act, which Biden signed into law in 2022.

The law caps various health care costs for Medicare beneficiaries, including insulin at $35 per month and $2,000 for prescription drugs a year. No GOP lawmakers voted for the law.

Despite the popularity of lowering health care costs with the public, Biden's aides and Democratic officials said the president has yet to get the credit he deserves from voters for this achievement.

Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders Tout Capping of Costs for Inhalers

Both men also promoted their efforts to pressure major inhaler manufacturers to limit the devices' costs to no more than $35 a month. According to the White House, inhalers cost between $200 and $600 without insurance.

Three of the largest inhaler manufacturers recently said the price changes will take effect later this year or early 2025.

"I want to thank President Biden for what he has done on this issue up to now, and I look forward to working with the president as we go forward," Sanders noted, according to the AP.

Sanders, who has long advocated for increased government control over the health care sector, has a loyal following supporting his calls to address exorbitant medical costs in the US.

However, the pharmaceutical companies expressed dissatisfaction with Joe Biden's remarks, labeling them a "missed opportunity" as the president failed to address the role of other sectors, such as health insurance companies, in driving up medication costs.

Biden has made lowering health care costs a centerpiece of his White House and reelection campaigns.