President Joe Biden teamed up Wednesday with Sen. Bernie Sanders, his one-time 2020 Democratic primary rival and a leader in Congress’ progressive wing, to promote efforts to lower the cost of prescription drugs, including inhalers, at a White House event on Wednesday.
The event gave Biden an opportunity to flex his progressive bonafides while also making the case to Americans that his administration has taken steps to lower health care costs. Biden on Wednesday credited Sanders with laying the groundwork for his administration’s health care policies – the independent senator’s focus on “Medicare for all” was a major focal point of the 2020 Democratic presidential campaign and helped shape much of the debate during that cycle.
At the time, the two men found themselves on opposite ends of the health care debate in the Democratic contest with Sanders pushing for a progressive plan of universal health care through Medicare for All and Biden taking a more moderate approach by campaigning on bolstering the Affordable Care Act.
Sanders has long decried the high prices Americans pay for drugs, grilling pharmaceutical company executives and releasing a multitude of bills to bring down medication costs. He even led a caravan to Canada in 2019 to give people with diabetes access to less expensive insulin.
Biden sought to align himself with the outspoken senator, saying Wednesday that the two have fought against high drug prices for 25 years and “beat Big Pharma finally.”
“I’m proud of my administration taking on Big Pharma in the most significant ways ever, and it wouldn’t have done without Bernie,” Biden said. “Bernie was the one who was leading the way for decades, which is why we’re here today.”
In his remarks, Biden also called for…
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