{"id":157783,"date":"2023-03-23T14:30:04","date_gmt":"2023-03-23T21:30:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=157783"},"modified":"2023-03-23T14:30:04","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T21:30:04","slug":"president-biden-at-an-affordable-care-act-anniversary-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=157783","title":{"rendered":"President Biden at an Affordable Care Act Anniversary Event"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Thank you, thank you, thank you.  Thank you, Teresa.  What a \u2014 what a lovely introduction.  You have such grace and calm and charm.  I said on the way out \u2014 I said, \u201cIf it gets confusing, just say, \u2018Here\u2019s Joe.\u2019\u201d  (Laughter.)  She said, \u201cI think I\u2019ll be okay.\u201d  Look, 13 years ago today, we gathered in this room as President Obama signed into law the Affordable Health Care Act.  Hard to believe 13 days ag- \u2014 13 years ago.  It seems like 13 days ago.  (Laughter.) <\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZTH8Ua0eRnc\" title=\"President Biden Hosts an Anniversary Event for the Affordable Care Act\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Most \u2014 I think it was the most conse- \u2014 I think most people would agree: the most consequential piece of healthcare legislation since the creation of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965.<\/p>\n<p>I talked to the President yesterday.  Got a chance to speak with him.  We did a little thing together. <\/p>\n<p>And it\u2019s an extraordinary achievement by President Obama.  And while the Affordable Care Act has been called a lot of things, \u201cObamacare\u201d is the most fitting description.  (Laughter.)  Obamacare.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Many of you joined us that day after fighting for decades to make it happen.  And I remember the three words I used at the time.  (Laughter.)  I thought it was \u2014 (applause) \u2014 I thought it was a big deal.  (Laughter.)  And I stand by the fact it was a big deal.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also \u2014 I also called it at that time \u201ca historic day,\u201d because history is not merely what\u2019s painted and printed on walls and in \u2014 in textbooks.  You know, it doesn\u2019t begin or end with the stroke of a pen. <\/p>\n<p>History is made when women decide that there\u2019s a greater risk in accepting a situation they cannot bear than steeling our spine and embracing the promise of change. <\/p>\n<p>You know, and no one has more in her spine and \u2014 than the greatest Speaker in the history of this country, Nancy Pelosi.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Nance, it\u2019s no exaggeration to say this would not be law without you.  It would not be law without you.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>If it weren\u2019t for the Speaker\u2019s relentless push to get this law passed and then defend it at every \u2014 every single turn that \u2014 we wouldn\u2019t be here today. <\/p>\n<p>And, Kamala, I want to thank you for everything you\u2019ve done to defend this law as Vice President \u2014 (applause) \u2014 as a United States Senator and as attorney general \u2014 (applause) \u2014 along with my son, Beau Biden.  You brought a \u2014 you both brought cases to defend it. <\/p>\n<p>And I also want to thank Kamala for her leadership in the fight to protect reproductive rights for women.  She\u2019s leading it too.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Look, so many of you here worked so hard to make history that 13 years ago today, and I just want to start by saying thank you.  And I mean it from the bottom of my heart.  Thank you.  And there\u2019s millions and millions of people who owe you because you stuck with it and you keep defending it. <\/p>\n<p>Thirteen years later, it\u2019s easy to forget what life was like for hardworking families before the Affordable Care Act.<\/p>\n<p>You know, but all of you remember.  Remember when a parent with a heart disease or diabetes or a child with asthma couldn\u2019t get coverage because of a pre-existing condition?<\/p>\n<p>Remember when women had to pay more for insurance because they had pre-existing condition \u2014 they were a woman?  (Laughter.)  Not a joke.  It\u2019s \u2014 say it today to people and they look at you like, \u201cYou\u2019re kidding me.\u201d  But that was the case. <\/p>\n<p>Remember when you couldn\u2019t leave a dead-end job because you couldn\u2019t risk losing your health insurance?<\/p>\n<p>Remember when a 22-year-old kid could be kicked off his parents\u2019 plan because he graduated from college?<\/p>\n<p>Remember the donut hole when seniors on Medicare reached a point every year when they had to pay the full cost of their drugs out-of-pocket?<\/p>\n<p>Remember when millions of low- and middle-income families, especially who were \u2014 particularly those families who were locked out \u2014 locked out of health insurance because there was no way they could afford it?  None. <\/p>\n<p>I said earlier \u2014 and my friends heard me say this before \u2014 I can remember we lived in a three-bedroom, split-level home, and my bedroom was up against the wall where my parents\u2019 bedroom was in the \u2014 and my dad\u2019s headboard was there.  And I \u2014 I remember one \u2014 I was, like, 14 years old.  And I remember my dad \u2014 I could see he \u2014 you could hear he was just restless.  And I asked my mom the next morning when he went to work, \u201cWhat\u2019s the matter?\u201d  She said, \u201cWell, his company just told him they\u2019re not going to pay for health insurance anymore.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>How many people lie in bed awake wondering?  <\/p>\n<p>Remember when insurance companies could cut you off halfway through chemo when \u2014 because you\u2019d reached the limit of what they were willing to pay?<\/p>\n<p>I remember \u2014 I talked to you about this, Chris \u2014 when my son, Beau, was dying of chemo \u2014 dying in a hospital because he had stage 4 glioblastoma.  And I got a call from someone asking me for help because they thought they were going to have their insurance cut off because it ran \u2014 they ran out of time.  And I thought to myself, \u201cWhat in God\u2019s name would I do had they come along and said, \u2018Sorry, you\u2019ve run out of your coverage\u2019\u201d?<\/p>\n<p>Folks, when at the most vulnerable point in a person\u2019s life, the moment when you really need it, you could hear the words, \u201cSorry, your insurance has run out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Folks, our MAGA Republican friends \u2014 and, by the way, I want to be clear, there\u2019s some good, decent Republicans out there.  I\u2019m not suggesting this is all about bad Republicans.  But this new crowd is \u2014 is not your \u2014 this ain\u2019t your father\u2019s Republican Party.  (Laughter.)  They may have forgotten all I just said, but I haven\u2019t, you haven\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>All Americans deserve the peace of mind that if an illness strikes or an accident occurs, you can get the care you need.<\/p>\n<p>But the truth is too many folks lie in bed at night and said \u2014 stare into ceiling wondering, \u201cMy God, what happens if she gets breast cancer or I end up with a serious cancer, or what happens to the kids?  What then?  What then?  Do we have enough insurance?  Can we afford the bills?  What\u2019s going to happen?  If it gets bad enough, maybe we have to sell the house; we don\u2019t any more equity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>You know, I think it\u2019s about what you value.  And I think all of us in this room value peace of mind for everybody.  Everybody deserves a little peace of mind for things they can\u2019t control. <\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why my administration has focused intensely on building on the progress of the Affordable Care Act, getting more people affordable insurance, lowering prescription drug prices, giving families more breathing room.<\/p>\n<p>We have passed historic laws to get that done.  And now we\u2019re moving quickly to implement them so people feel the effects in their everyday lives.<\/p>\n<p>The Affordable Health Care Act expanded Medicaid to cover<br \/>\nadditional 20 million people.  Before it was passed, 20 fewer \u2014 20 million people had \u2014 fewer people had insurance.  So it expanded to cover 20 million more people on Medicaid.  That means more cancers detected early, more mental health treatment available, less medical debt and fewer evictions.<\/p>\n<p>You know, I signed the American Rescue Plan, which went further and allowed states to extend Medicaid coverage to new moms for up to one year after they gave birth instead of only for 60 days.  You remember, Gov, what that did \u2014 what you guys did.  Thirty-six states and counting.  And now we\u2019re extending to a full-year coverage.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>The American Rescue Plan also increased coverage and lowered prices for the Affordable Health Care Act by saving 15 million people close to $800 a year on their insurance.<br \/>\nMy new budget \u2014 our new budget makes these savings<br \/>\npermanent.  Permanent.  (Applause.)  And would finish the job by expanding Medicaid to at least 2 million more Americans.  (Applause.) <\/p>\n<p>Folks, look, we\u2019re making healthcare more affordable in many other ways as well.<\/p>\n<p>Last year, I proposed and the Congress passed the Inflation<br \/>\nReduction Act, which no Republican voted for, even the good ones.  (Laughter.)  I don\u2019t mean \u201cgood\u201d in a moral sense; I mean the normal Republicans.  (Laughter.) <\/p>\n<p>As a result, this year seniors on Medicare now get common vaccines \u2014 things like tetanus, whooping cough, shingles \u2014 they get them for free instead of having to pay up to $200 a shot.<\/p>\n<p>Americans spend more on prescription drugs than any advanced nation in the world.  But for decades, we s- \u2014 worked for decades \u2014 and I \u2014 we \u2014 did this with Chris a long time.  I say \u201cChris\u201d \u2014 Senator Dodd \u2014 a long time.  We tried to take on Big Pharma.  But we finally won.  (Applause.)  We finally won.<\/p>\n<p>And instead of just paying whatever drug companies want to charge, Medicare is going to be able to drive down prices.<\/p>\n<p>We gave Medicare some of the same powers \u2014 again, the same powers to do with Medicare \u2014 we gave the government the same power to be able to do what they can do at the Department of Veterans Affairs: negotiate lower drug prices.  (Applause.) <\/p>\n<p>And there\u2019s another example \u2014 there\u2019s another example of how we\u2019re lowering costs.<\/p>\n<p>Insulin was invented 100 years ago and only costs about 10 bucks a vial to make.  But drug companies are charging hundreds of dollars a vial.<br \/>\nBut beginning January 1 of this year, we capped that cost at $35 a month no matter what for \u2014 for seniors.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>But we need to cap that cost for everyone, including the 200,000 children with Type I diabetes who need insulin every day to stay healthy and alive.<\/p>\n<p>So I called on Congress to do that as well in this budget.  And my budget is going to require it.<\/p>\n<p>But guess what?  Earlier this month, Eli Lilly \u2014 and I<br \/>\nspoke to the C- \u2014 the biggest insulin maker in the country \u2014 announced they\u2019re answering my call.  They\u2019re lowering prices to $35 a month for insulin.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And last \u2014 and last week, the country\u2019s two other top insulin makers announced that they\u2019re cutting prices as well.<\/p>\n<p>So, folks \u2014 and here\u2019s \u2014 here\u2019s something else the Inflation Reduction Act does to lower prescription drug costs.<\/p>\n<p>Drug companies that raise prices faster than inflation now \u2014<\/p>\n<p>(An audience member begins to leave the East Room with their baby.)<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s all right \u2014 we like babies.  You don\u2019t have to worry about it.  (Laughter.) <\/p>\n<p>(The audience member returns to their seat.)<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s \u2014 it\u2019s okay.  It\u2019s all right.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Matter a fact, I like babies better than people.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>But, look, any drug company that raises prices faster than inflation now has to pay Medicare back the difference beginning next year.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Last week \u2014 last week, we learned that drug companies hiked prices of about 20 drugs above the new threshold last quarter.  Now manufacturers are going to have to pay the difference back to Medicare. <\/p>\n<p>The Department of Health and Human Services estimates it will make co-pays for those drugs hundreds of dollars cheaper for most \u2014 for some seniors. <\/p>\n<p>And it\u2019s going to change the way drugs are priced and lower costs for seniors long-term as well.<br \/>\nWe also are capping out-of-pocket drug cost expenses for seniors on Medicare at a maximum of $2,000 a year total, no matter what their costs are.  Two thousand dollars a year.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And, look, that\u2019s compared to a \u2014 and you know \u2014 and maybe some of you even here know folks who are paying not just $2,000 a year, they\u2019re paying $10-, $12-, $14,000 a year for some of the expensive treatments, like cancer drugs that have to be \u2014 but they\u2019ll never have to pay more than $2,000 for all their prescriptions in a single year.<\/p>\n<p>And we\u2019re going to give seniors certainty and peace of mind.<br \/>\nAnd, by the way, we\u2019re also going to give the federal government the money as well, lowering the deficit by $160 billion \u2014 (applause) \u2014 because they don\u2019t have to pay out that much money.<\/p>\n<p>Two weeks ago, I released my budget.  And it lays out what we support and a stark contrast to the other team.<\/p>\n<p>My dad used to have an expression.  Chris knew my dad.  He\u2019d say, \u201cDon\u2019t tell me what you value.  Show me your budget; I\u2019ll tell you what you value.\u201d  (Laughter.)  \u201cDon\u2019t tell me what you value.  Show me your budget, and I will tell you what you value.\u201d   <\/p>\n<p>Well, I value everyone having a decent shot.  About fairness.  It\u2019s about dignity.<\/p>\n<p>My budget continues to build on the progress we made in the Affordable Care Act.<\/p>\n<p>We value seniors \u2014 hardworking Americans who busted their necks their whole lives.  My budget lifts the burden on those folks so at the end of the month, they have just a little bit of breathing room \u2014 just a little bit of breathing room.<\/p>\n<p>No one making less than $400,000 a year will pay a single penny more in federal taxes to pay for all that we\u2019ve done.  Not a single penny more.<\/p>\n<p>And MAGA \u2014 (applause) \u2014 but our MAGA Republican friends in Congress have a very different value set.  They want to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act.  They value Big Pharma over lowering drug costs for seniors.  Or trying to undo the Affordable Care Act ever since I started \u2014 this started 13 years ago.  They voted to repeal or weaken the act 50 times in the first five years that it existed.  They\u2019ve made repealing part of it virtually every Republican \u2014 in every single Republican budget since the law was passed.  And they\u2019re backing plans that would gut it again \u2014 gut Medicaid.<\/p>\n<p>Look, let\u2019s take a look at what the Affordable Care Act has done.<\/p>\n<p>The Affordable Care Act is the big reason why millions of people with pre-existing conditions can afford to have insurance.  Period.  (Applause.) <\/p>\n<p>Because \u2014 because of the Affordable Care Act, millions \u2014 millions of Americans can get free preventive care, like cancer screenings.  And, by the way, saves the country millions and millions of dollars if they detect it early.<\/p>\n<p>Because of the Affordable Care Act, millions of Americans have access to basic services like maternity care when they wouldn\u2019t otherwise have that.<\/p>\n<p>Because of the Affordable Care Act, families all over the country have been able to keep their children on the \u2014 on their policies until age 26.<\/p>\n<p>Today, North Carolina is about to become the 40th state to expand Medicaid.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>There are nearly 40 million Americans in this country who get their healthcare through the Affordable Care Act and the \u2014 and the Medicaid expansion.  Forty million people who have some peace of mind.<\/p>\n<p>The Affordable Care Act has been law for 13 years.  It has developed deep roots in this country.  It has become a critical part of providing healthcare and saving lives.  We always talk about the costs, but it saves lives as well.<\/p>\n<p>Obviously, it doesn\u2019t mean much to our Republican friends, but it can be a matter of life and death to millions of Americans out there if they didn\u2019t have it.  Even now, MAGA Republicans in Congress are intent on repealing the Affordable Care Act when it\u2019s clear it would be a \u2014 have a devastating impact on the American people.<\/p>\n<p>We still have the House Republican \u2014 we still haven\u2019t seen the House Republican budget.  They want to negotiate.  I say, \u201cI\u2019ve laid down my budget on the 9th.  You lay down yours.  Let\u2019s negotiate.\u201d  I don\u2019t know where their budget is.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>No, I\u2019m serious.  There has been no budg- \u2014 as my brother would say, \u201cGo figure.\u201d  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>But, look, the budgets are going to show what \u2014 what they value.<\/p>\n<p>A former Trump director of budget advising the MAGA Republicans in Congress has a plan to slash $2 trillion from Medicaid.  I guess that shows a little bit of their value set.<\/p>\n<p>He wants to \u2014 he wants to end Medicare expansion under the Affordable Care Act and make additional deep cuts that could lead to nearly 70 million people losing critical services.  Seventy million people, most of whom are seniors, people with disabilities and with children \u2014 and children, I should say.  And some could lose their healthcare altogether.<\/p>\n<p>And there are a number of other areas they\u2019re cutting Medicaid or repealing the Affordable Care Act would have a huge impact.<\/p>\n<p>You know, what people don\u2019t really understand: My Republican friends always talk about how they care about rural America.  Well, guess what?  Just take a look at rural Americans\u2019 hospitals, which would lose funding they need to keep the doors open.  That\u2019s one of the reasons why so many are closed.<\/p>\n<p>Already, rural eveds- \u2014 rural residents have to travel twice as far to get to a hospital as folks who live in cities, which is partly why trauma patients in rural areas are twice as likely to die before they get to a hospital. <\/p>\n<p>And more would close.  Not a joke: More would close.  They couldn\u2019t stay open.<\/p>\n<p>If our Republican friends get their way, more rural hospitals will shut down and the problem will even get worse.  So, I don\u2019t want to hear about they \u201cvalue rural America.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>If they get their way, seniors and people with disabilities could lose access to home healthcare and, with it, the ability to stay in their homes \u2014 which, by the way, shows it extends life of the people.  People would much rather stay, if they could, just with a little bit of help in their own homes rather than be \u2014 go to a home.  And it\u2019s less expensive.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Medicaid \u2014 Medicaid also pays for nursing home care for about two thirds of all Americans who live in nursing homes.  Well, it\u2019d be different if they were able to stay home.  Medicaid and the quality of care in nursing homes goes down when that happens.<\/p>\n<p>Millions affected by the \u2014 the opioid epidemic would lose access to drug treatment.<\/p>\n<p>And for the millions of middle-class and working-class currently covered by the ACA Marketplace, even if they managed to keep their insurance, it could cost them thousands more each year.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s just a glimpse that the damage repealing the Affordable Care Act would have on gutting Medi- \u2014 and gutting Medicaid would do. <\/p>\n<p>But our value set is fundamentally different than our Republican friends.  So we will never let that happen.<br \/>\n(Applause.)  Never let that happen.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re also strengthening Medicare and Social Security.  In fact, my budget will extend the life of Medicare Trust Fund beyond 2050.  (Applause.)  And meanwhile, MAGA Republicans in Congress \u2014 MAGA Republicans in Congress are threatening to gut and eliminate these programs.<br \/>\nYou may have seen our back-and-forth at the State of the Union \u2014 (inaudible) State of the Union.  Never quite saw one like that before.  (Laughter.)  And when the distinguished congresswoman from the mountains of Georgia were saying \u201cLiar!  Liar!\u201d all of a sudden \u2014 and then others started, and I said, \u201cWell\u2026\u201d \u2014 and they said, \u201cWe don\u2019t want to cut it.\u201d  So I went through it all.  You may remember my saying, \u201cIf you\u2019re not going to cut Social Security and Medicare, holler, stand up.\u201d  Well, a lot of them stood up.  Tell the press they\u2019re all on camera \u2014 (laughter) \u2014 all the ones that stood up.<\/p>\n<p>I sure hope it\u2019s true, but I\u2019ll believe it when I see it.<br \/>\nYou\u2019ve paid into Social Security and Medicare from the first paycheck you ever earned.  And I\u2019m determined to protect it.<\/p>\n<p>Let me close with this.  Thirteen years ago, thanks to the leadership of Barack Obama \u2014 and some of his staff who are in this room here helped get that passed.  If I start to name them, it would take a long time.  (Laughter.)  But I want to thank them.  We made history when the Affordable Care Act became law.<br \/>\nAnd we changed America.  We gave millions of people peace of mind.<\/p>\n<p>We did something else.  We also took a giant step toward realizing the fundamental principle that we hold as Democrats and as Americans: that healthcare is a right and not a privilege.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Folks, we\u2019re not all the way there yet.  But there\u2019s more to do, so let\u2019s finish the job.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s protect lower prescription drug costs for everyone.  Let\u2019s expand healthcare coverage for more people ge- \u2014 so they get care.  Let\u2019s keep building an economy from the middle out and the bottom up.<br \/>\nAnd let\u2019s remember who we are.  We\u2019re the United States of America.  Nothing is beyond our capacity when we do it together.<\/p>\n<p>So God bless you all.  And let\u2019s keep fighting to get it done.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you, Teresa. What a \u2014 what a lovely introduction. You have such grace and calm and charm. I said on the way out \u2014 I said, \u201cIf it gets confusing, just say, \u2018Here\u2019s Joe.\u2019\u201d (Laughter.) She said, \u201cI think I\u2019ll be okay.\u201d Look, 13 years ago today, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":157784,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-157783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-government","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Fullscreen-capture-3232023-22759-PM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=157783"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157783\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":157785,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157783\/revisions\/157785"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/157784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=157783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=157783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=157783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}