On Thursday, President Biden claimed that Democrats are “close” to passing his Build Back Better bill, and that the $2 trillion plan would help ease the inflation crisis by reducing prescription drug prices.
Biden’s comments came the week after Democrat Senator Joe Manchin (WV) reiterated his opposition to the Build Back Better bill and that it was “dead,” effectively guaranteeing the legislation will never pass through the Senate.
“In my Build Back Better legislation that … passed the House of Representatives, we can [lower drug prices]. Now we just have to get it through the United States Senate. And we’re close,” Biden claimed.
Biden made the claim during a speech given just hours after the Department of Labor announced that annual inflation had hit 7.5 percent – the highest level in 40 years.
It should be noted that prescription drug prices have risen more slowly than the rate of inflation, suggesting that focusing on their reduction will not effectively fight inflation.
According to a recent Stat report, prescription drug prices rose just under 5% in 2021 – far less than the 7.5% rise in inflation over the last year. As reported by KHN, “As 2022 gets under way, pharmaceutical companies have so far raised wholesale prices by a median of 4.9% on more than 450 prescription medicines, an overall annual increase that is comparable to the price hikes seen over the past three years.”
