Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign recently announced long critique Former President Donald Trump's health care plan. The document not only details President Trump's elusive “planning concept,” but also highlights an issue we know all too well as physicians: affordability.
As physicians, we see firsthand how rising health care costs are impacting the average American. When insurance plans discontinue coverage of certain drugs, we see patients suddenly develop life-threatening diabetes complications. We see families incur medical debt due to birth complications and continue to pay off that debt 20 years later until their child goes to college. The cost of health care is forcing American families to make heartbreaking choices between their health and other aspects of their lives.
Older Americans are more concerned about how the cost of care will affect their financial health than they are about how the quality of care will affect their actual health. Recently University of Michigan Poll For more than 2,500 older Americans, medical costs, including hospital care, nursing home care, drug costs, and dental care, are the number one cause of health concerns.
It's no secret that U.S. health care costs continue to rise unsustainably. These costs have a direct impact on patients and families, with exorbitant out-of-pocket costs forcing more and more households into medical debt. more 20 million Americans Currently, 70% of people are behind on their medical bills and owe more than $1,000. According to the report, almost half A higher percentage of people who are in debt avoid getting the medical care they need because they fear they might end up with a big bill.
This path is no longer viable, and Democrats appear to be the only ones with a plan that prioritizes both economic and physical health. Millions of Americans are in dire need of immediate financial assistance and debt relief. As a doctor and researcher person studying access to healthcarewe believe that affordability is currently the most important policy priority in the healthcare sector.
Over the past several years, the Biden-Harris Administration has worked with state and local governments to take real steps to make health care more affordable and reduce unjust and excessive health debt. For example, President Biden signed the law into law. Surprise Prohibition Law In 2022, out-of-network billing for emergency care was restricted. The law protects patients facing medical emergencies from being hit with unexpectedly large bills at a time when many people have little or no control over where they receive care. is. In addition to protecting us all from surprise bills, this legislation is projected to reduce health insurance premiums by more than 1 percent for Americans with private health insurance.
Similarly, Harris cast the tie-breaking vote in the Senate. inflation control lawwhich allowed the federal government to directly negotiate Medicare prescription drug prices. Recently, the Department of Health and Human Services announced the first round of negotiated pricing. 38% to 79% per drug. These common drugs for diabetes, cancer, and blood clot prevention will become more affordable for Medicare beneficiaries.
The new law also limits the cost of insulin to $35 per month and limits total annual drug copayments to $2,000 per year. For some Medicare beneficiaries, these initiatives mean savings Approximately $1,000 per person Year by year. Importantly, the bill achieves these savings without raising taxes and is expected to reduce the federal deficit by more than 50%. $230 billion Over 10 years. If elected, Harris said she would seek to expand drug pricing reform to the following countries: all americansstarting with the first 10 medicines selected for the new negotiation program.
Finally, Democrats have proven committed to reducing existing medical debt for millions of Americans. During the Biden-Harris administration's first 100 days in office, presidential order Directs federal agencies to reduce the burden of medical debt on households. The Department of Veterans Affairs has used funds from the American Rescue Plan to cancel nearly $1 billion in copayments. 1.5 million veterans and eliminated co-pays for medical expenses for veterans. Harris recently pledged to cancel additional plans. $7 billion in medical debt For 3 million Americans.
Until recently, medical debt appeared on credit reports, negatively impacting credit scores and potentially preventing Americans from securing apartment leases, mortgages, car loans, and student loans. Despite all three major credit bureaus promising to remove unpaid medical bills from your credit report. researchers discovered More than 215 million Americans still have medical bills on their credit reports. Harris and other Democratic policymakers are now Completely prohibited Include past due medical bills on your credit report. If adopted, it would increase the credit scores of those affected on average. 20 points.
Thanks to steps taken by the Biden-Harris administration, thousands of Americans are already finding letters in their mailboxes informing them that their medical debt has been forgiven. Soon, many more people will see their insulin costs fall, and others will see their monthly prescription drug spending decrease. These reductions in the costs we incur as consumers are real and important.
There's only one ticket available this November, and it's for the Harris Waltz. This ticket builds on these wins and works to aggressively improve health care affordability in ways that reduce hardship and improve health for all.
Nishant Uppal, MD, MBA, is a medical resident and medical researcher at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Dr. Kedar Mate is a faculty member at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City. they are members of Dr. Harris.
