Press Release
☷Remarks by President Biden on Lowering Healthcare Costs for American Families | Goffstown NH
White House ( By Press Release office)
Mar 13,2024
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I ' m here in New Hampshire to talk about the budget I just released , which I believe will make a big difference . As Rose mentioned , Americans pay way more for prescription drugs than people in other countries . It ' s unfair , and I ' ve been fighting to change that for years . It ' s time to make healthcare more affordable for everyone . Thank you to our excellent congressional delegation , including Senators Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen , who couldn ' t be here today but sent a strong ally in Billy Shaheen . Thanks , Rose , for that introduction . Please take a seat if you can find one - I once made the mistake of telling people to take a seat when there were none , and it was pretty awkward . Rose , your story about living with cystic fibrosis and struggling with high drug costs really hits home . You ' re not alone in worrying about how to afford medical care . It ' s a tough situation for so many Americans . Hey there , everyone at YMCA Allard Center in Goffstown , New Hampshire at 2:06 in the afternoon . How ' s it going? Good to see you all . Good to see you all . Thanks for the warm welcome . By the way , Bowdoin College is a good school - I ' ve spoken there before . So , with the Inflation Reduction Act that I proposed and signed into law — no Republicans voted for it , by the way — we were able to finally take on Big Pharma . We put a cap on prescription drug costs for seniors on Medicare at $2 , 000 a year , even for expensive medications . And starting next year , the cost for all prescription drugs for seniors , including pricey cancer treatments , won ' t exceed $2 , 000 a year . I also want to extend this cap to everyone , not just seniors , which could make a huge difference . For example , instead of paying $400 a month for insulin , seniors with diabetes will only have to pay $35 a month . It ' s crazy to think that it only costs $10 to make insulin , but they ' ve been charging so much more . By allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices , we ' re not only saving seniors money but also reducing the federal deficit . This has already saved $160 billion over time . And now we ' re working on negotiating lower prices for even more drugs in the future . Hey everyone , if we can pull this off , not only will we save lives , but we ' ll also save taxpayers a whopping $200 billion! That ' s money they won ' t have to give to those greedy drug companies with their crazy prices . ( Cheers . ) And with Maggie and your delegation ' s help , I ' ve already managed to slash the federal deficit by $1 trillion . We even signed a budget deal to cut another trillion over the next ten years , if they stick to it . Now , my goal is to further reduce the federal debt by making those big corporations and wealthy folks finally start paying their fair share . Now hold up , I ' m not against corporations . I mean , I come from Delaware , where more corporations are incorporated than in any other state in America combined! ( Cheers . ) But here ' s the thing , guys , I ' m all for capitalism and making money , but it ' s time these corporations start ponying up their fair share of taxes . ( Applause . ) Remember that big fight I had not too long ago? Well , it helped me cut the deficit by $7 billion in just the first year . We found out that 50 corporations made a whopping $40 billion in 2021 and didn ' t pay a dime in taxes . Can you believe that? So , I did something pretty radical and raised it to 15 percent . Can you imagine? ( Laughter . ) But guess what? It paid for everything we ' ve done so far while still reducing the deficit . Look , a fair tax code is how we invest in the things that make this country great—like healthcare , education , defense , and research . But let me tell you , the last administration passed a $2 trillion tax cut that only benefited the super wealthy and big corporations . And you know what happened? It blew up the federal deficit . It added more to the national debt than any other presidential term in history . Debt , debt , debt . Can you believe it? ( Laughter . ) So , let me ask you , do you think the tax code is fair? I don ' t think so either . And I bet the press won ' t even raise their hand if I ask them . ( Laughter . ) Do you honestly think the wealthy and big corporations need another $2 trillion tax break? ' Cause that ' s what he wants to do . His tax cut is about to expire , and he wants to add another $2 trillion tax cut . Well , I ' m not gonna stand for it . I ' m gonna fight tooth and nail to make it fair . Under my plan , I promised that nobody earning less than $400 , 000 a year—way more than I ever made—will have to pay a single extra penny in federal taxes . Nobody . Not one cent . And so far , that ' s exactly what ' s been happening . Guys , it ' s all about basic fairness . Here ' s another example , folks . Obamacare , also known as the Affordable Care Act , is still a big deal . Over 100 million Americans can now get health insurance even with preexisting conditions . But some Republicans want to repeal it , and I ' m not going to let that happen . We ' ve stopped them 50 times already , and we ' ll keep fighting . John McCain , who was a key vote in protecting the ACA , is no longer with us , but his legacy lives on . I ' m working to expand the ACA and make sure everyone has access to affordable healthcare . I ' m also standing up against any cuts to Social Security and Medicare . I won ' t let that happen . Instead , I ' ll make sure the wealthy pay their fair share to protect these vital programs . Thanks to Maggie ' s leadership , we ' ve put an end to surprise medical bills that were costing Americans thousands of dollars . We ' re also cracking down on unnecessary fees for telemedicine visits . These fees may seem small , but they add up for families like the one I grew up in . Despite the challenges we faced during the pandemic , we are now moving towards a future where healthcare is a right for all Americans . I am feeling optimistic about what lies ahead . We just gotta remember who we are , right? We ' re the United States of America and there ' s nothing we can ' t handle when we come together . Seriously , it ' s not a joke . We always come out stronger from every crisis . Let me give you an example - we have a thousand billionaires in the country and they only pay an average tax rate of 8 . 2% . Imagine if we just raised that to 25% , we could raise $400 billion a year . We could do so much good with that money , from cutting the deficit to providing healthcare . It ' s totally doable , we just gotta make it happen . So , let ' s keep pushing for what we believe in and make sure we don ' t go backwards . Thanks for listening , y ' all . God bless you and God protect our troops . Thank you .
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