Want a healthy USA? Vote for the Democratic ticket in November.
“President Biden — who was propelled into office in no small part by his health care agenda — realized Democrats' decades-long dream of allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, and came closer to achieving his party's equally elusive goal of universal health coverage than any other Democratic president before him.
Why it matters: As history-making as those achievements were, his health care legacy is a fragile one that could be undone by future administrations, congresses or court decisions, and in some ways is already being overshadowed by rising medical costs that top many Americans' financial concerns.
Driving the news: Biden put lowering prescription drug costs for seniors and expanding coverage to a record number of Americans among his top accomplishments in the letter announcing his decision to bow out of the presidential race on Sunday.
The big picture: Biden's presidency was shaped by huge health care decisions, beginning with a COVID-19 response that brought mass vaccinations and scaled-up testing, but also controversial mandates on masking and vaccines and flawed public health messaging.
He revived the cancer "moonshot" he first spearheaded as vice president, launched a multibillion-dollar science agency aimed at curing major diseases and took steps to close gender gaps in medical research.
He issued executive orders to protect abortion access after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and took further steps early this year to expand access to contraception, abortion pills and emergency abortion care. Yet many of those moves could be reversed by a future Republican administration.
The same goes for the Medicaid demonstration waivers that gave states a way to test new approaches in the safety net program, including eligibility and benefit expansions.
Between the lines: Biden's biggest health accomplishment may have been in dramatically expanding health coverage and getting the nation close to a goal that Democratic presidents starting with Harry S. Truman embraced.
Following up on campaign pledges to protect the Affordable Care Act, he pushed through Congress the enhanced subsidies for marketplace coverage that drove record sign-ups at little or no cost for some low-income customers, especially in states that haven't expanded Medicaid.
While that helped drive the national uninsured rate to record lows, the subsidies expire next year and are likely to not be renewed if Republicans sweep the November elections.
And the ranks of the uninsured are certain to tick up again as states continue to pare their Medicaid rolls post-pandemic.
Biden also made good on enacting Medicare drug price negotiations via the Inflation Reduction Act — an idea that Democrats pushed for almost 20 years against fierce drug industry resistance.
While the negotiated prices will initially cover just 10 prescription drugs starting in 2026, talks will expand to more drugs.”
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6moAwesome - but also shame on the those states that require women to endure this degree of difficulty to access health care and make private medical decisions.