Biden growls at the high costs of insulin for people not on Medicare

President Biden, on Thursday, got angry about the price of drugs like insulin preventing some parents from being able to provide necessities for their children.

During his visit at the Steamfitters Union Hall in Springfield, Virginia on Thursday, Biden spoke about how great he believes the economy is, ‘no joke,’ and the accomplishments of his administration during his first two years in office.

One of those accomplishments the president spoke about was putting a cap on the amount of money senior citizens will pay on prescription drugs at $2,000 per year.

He said even if a senior citizen’s drugs cost $12,000 a year, like some cancer drugs, they will not pay any more than $2,000 in a year.

Biden also said his administration put a $35 per month cap on insulin for seniors on Medicare, instead of $400 per month. But that is for seniors on Medicare, but for a mother with two daughters with type two diabetes, the cost is still $400 per prescription, per month, the president explained.

Even though the consumer pays $400 per month for the drug, Biden explained, it costs the drug manufacturer $12 to make and package the insulin.

‘The guy who invented it didn’t even patent it because he wanted it available for everybody,’ he explained. ‘But now look at what they’re charging, and they’re making billions of bucks doing it.’

Insulin was never invented because it is a hormone produced in the body. 

As for the mom with two daughters with diabetes, she pays $800 a month for insulin, and without insurance, the president asked how someone could do that.

‘Talk about being deprived of your pride,’ Biden said. ‘Look at your child. Your child, you know, needs it. And you can’t afford to do it.

‘It’s wrong. It’s wrong. So, we gotta get it done for everybody this year. For everybody,’ he added.

The cap on insulin was part of the Inflation Reduction Act, which impacts those on Social Security and Medicare.

Broader inflation has abated somewhat in recent months but remains much higher than under Biden’s predecessor. 

The topic of drug costs was a key talking point as Biden made the rounds during the election season, and at one point he claimed to have met the man who invented insulin. It was discovered by a man named Frederick Banting, who died at the age of 49 on Feb. 21, 1941. Biden was born on November 20, 1942.