Biden will push for a universal insulin price cap in the State of the Union

“The President will ask Congress to extend this common sense and lifesaving protection to all Americans,” the backgrounder said.

Democrats originally planned to pass a universal insulin price cap last year as part of the Cut Inflation Act, which was passed along party lines last August. But the policy was scaled back after Republicans successfully challenged its inclusion. Since then, Democrats have vowed to continue pushing for its passage, arguing that it is widely popular and crucial to ensuring people can afford essential medicines.

Still, Biden’s new support for expanding the price cap is unlikely to lead to concrete progress. Republicans remain opposed to the measure and are unlikely to even allow a vote in the House now that they control the chamber.

Biden during his State of the Union address is also expected to highlight a handful of other health care achievements, including landmark legislation giving Medicare the right to negotiate drug prices and cap certain fees. reimbursable pharmacy. He will celebrate the last three states to expand their Medicaid programs, while urging Congress to pass legislation that would close coverage gaps in the 11 holdout states that have yet to expand Medicaid.

The president also plans to call for continued reductions in health insurance costs, pointing to the expansion of Obamacare subsidies that the administration says have reduced customer premiums by an average of $800 a year and pushed the rate up. of the country’s uninsured at an all-time high.