08.16.2022 / Statement

Families USA’s Isasi: President Biden, Congress deliver savings for families at the pharmacy counter and doctor’s office.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Families USA Executive Director Frederick Isasi released the following statement today after President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law. The legislation allows Medicare to negotiate costly prescription drugs, extends tax credits to help people afford health insurance purchased through the marketplaces, and invests in renewable energy and corporate tax reform:

“We did it. David prevailed in the fight against Big Pharma’s aggressive and relentless pricing abuses, and Goliath lost. By passing and signing the Inflation Reduction Act into law, President Biden and Congress are delivering savings for families at the pharmacy counter and doctor’s office.

“Across America, voters feel relieved knowing that the President and Congress took the action their constituents overwhelmingly supported and demanded – lower prescription drug and health care costs. With families’ wallets stretched to the limit, this bill could not have come at a better time.

“It is unconscionable that seniors are skipping doses of their life-saving medications and parents are forgoing taking their babies to the pediatrician because there’s no more room in the budget after paying rent, buying groceries and putting gas in their cars. No one’s health should depend on their wealth.

“Health care consumers – which everyone is at some point in their life – applaud President Biden and Congress for taking this significant step to address health care access and affordability. But the fight is not over. We can and should take more action— including enacting the policies featured in earlier versions of this legislation. Vulnerable families in states that have rebuffed efforts to extend Medicaid need coverage. People who rely on Medicare for their health need access to oral health care. Moms and new babies need post-partum health care. These provisions will help families, many of color with the lowest income who have faced systemic blocks to getting care, reduce the health and racial disparities that for decades have kept them from getting and staying healthy.

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