Biden said in the statement that the legislation, called the Inflation Reduction Act, would preserve eligibility improvements in the Affordable Care Act that were included in the American Rescue Plan, which saved 13 million Americans an average of $800 a year in premiums health insurance. according to the statement. He said the act would also protect 3 million Americans from becoming uninsured. Sen. Joe Manchin (DW.Va.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) reached an agreement Wednesday on a bill that would allow Medicare to directly negotiate drug prices and limit the out-of-pocket prescription drug costs at $2,000 per year. It will also invest $369 billion in climate programs over 10 years and $300 billion in deficit reduction. Biden said allowing Medicare to negotiate would lower costs for potentially millions of seniors, and capping drug costs at $2,000 would save Medicare beneficiaries with cancer and other chronic illnesses thousands of dollars a year. “For decades, congressional Democrats have been fighting for this — and we’re ready to come together and do it,” he said. Why Texas Democrats feel a sense of déjà vu Kushner says Bannon told him ‘I’ll snap you in half’ if Kushner crossed him: memoir Biden said he and congressional Democrats are fighting to strengthen Medicare and Medicaid, which provide health insurance to senior citizens and low-income Americans, respectively. According to Biden, nearly 140 million Americans benefit from the programs. President Lyndon Johnson created Medicare and Medicaid as part of the Social Security Amendments of 1965. Nearly 20 million Americans enrolled in the programs in their first three years, according to the National Archives.
