I’m old enough to remember when the key selling point of the Inflation Reduction Act was that it would reduce inflation. That was before the bill passed. After that, everyone pretty much stopped pretending that it would ease inflation and started hyping other aspects of the bill. One part I’ve started to hear more about lately is what the bill will do to address the cost of insulin.
“3.3 million Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes will benefit from a guarantee that their insulin costs are capped at $35 for a month’s supply,” the White House claims. The compliant mainstream media dutifully reported on this feature of the legislation; however, reporters neglected to point out that President Trump had previously implemented rules to lower the costs of insulin.
The Trump administration finalized those rules in December of 2020, but Biden froze them during his first days in office and ultimately rescinded them in October of 2021. Despite axing the rule that was designed to lower prices, Biden often used the high price of insulin and other drugs as a talking point for his agenda. Yet his own actions forced people to pay more for insulin than they otherwise would have because his governing philosophy was to reverse anything that Trump did.
But even some in the media are pointing out that Biden’s insulin price caps won’t help enough people. Trump’s executive orders sought to change how drugs are purchased and reduce prices for most people, but Biden wanted to keep the issue alive — essentially forcing people to continue to pay higher prices for medicines so that eventually he could claim credit for fixing the problem.
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