President Biden on Friday will sign an executive order directing administration officials to consider further actions to lower prescription drug costs, the White House announced.
Why it matters: With less than a month before the midterms, Biden is focusing on health care costs to help position Democratic candidates.
The big picture: Biden's order would compliment the Inflation Reduction Act and specifically, the provision allowing the federal government to negotiate some prescription drug prices.
- However, polls show that while the public is familiar with the law, they are unaware of its key health provisions.
- Still, many of the law's goals have strong public support, including limiting out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for people on Medicare and capping monthly out-of-pocket insulin costs for Medicare recipients.
State of play: The executive order directs the Department of Health and Human Services to "explore additional actions" it can take to lower prescription drug costs.
- HHS will have 90 days to submit a report on how it will use new models of health care payment and delivery to lower drug costs "and promote access to innovative drug therapies for beneficiaries enrolled in the Medicare and Medicaid programs."
