{"id":2269640,"date":"2024-06-17T13:47:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-17T17:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fact-check-fact-checking-biden-harris-hqs-post-about-trump-and-insulin-prices\/"},"modified":"2024-06-17T13:49:32","modified_gmt":"2024-06-17T17:49:32","slug":"fact-check-fact-checking-biden-harris-hqs-post-about-trump-and-insulin-prices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fact-check-fact-checking-biden-harris-hqs-post-about-trump-and-insulin-prices\/","title":{"rendered":"FACT CHECK: Reviewing Biden-Harris HQ&#8217;s Claims on Trump&#8217;s Impact on Insulin Prices"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffact-check-fact-checking-biden-harris-hqs-post-about-trump-and-insulin-prices%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2269640&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In\u2062 a 2024 political dispute surrounding insulin price caps, the Biden-Harris campaign \u200daccused\u200d former President Donald Trump of not capping insulin prices\u2064 for seniors during his presidency. This claim was contested by the Trump camp, which referenced Trump&#8217;s efforts that included a voluntary Medicare Part D program initiated\u2064 in his term that capped insulin prices at $35 per month, effective January 2021. Additionally, Trump had issued an executive order in July 2020 to \u2063provide insulin at discounted rates through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">federally qualified health centers<\/a> \u2062for those earning below 300% of the\u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/oakland-to-enroll-600-families-of-color-in-guranteed-income-pilot-program\/\" title=\"Oakland to Enroll 600 Families of Color in \u2018Guranteed Income\u2019 Pilot Program\">federal poverty level<\/a>. However, \u200cthis was rescinded by the Biden administration citing high administrative costs among \u2063other\u2064 reasons.<\/p>\n<p>Contrarily, President Joe Biden&#8217;s administration implemented a mandatory cap\u2063 at the same\u2064 rate of $35 per month \u200bfor all covered insulin products under Medicare plans through the Inflation Reduction\u2063 Act signed in August 2022, broadening the scope and compliance compared to the voluntary nature of Trump&#8217;s initiative.<\/p>\n<p>Experts \u2063from various ideological think \u200dtanks \u2062provided insights, noting that while Trump&#8217;s measures \u2062did intend to lower insulin costs and were implemented to some extent, Biden&#8217;s policy provided a \u2063more comprehensive and \u2064mandatory framework which ensured \u2064100% plan participation by 2024.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div id=\"ob-read-more-selector\">\n<p>In a June 3 post shared on X, the Biden-Harris campaign (Biden-Harris HQ) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BidenHQ\/status\/1797725488145715598\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">claimed<\/a> 2024 presumptive Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump did not cap insulin prices for seniors during his term.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Fox host tries to claim Trump, not President Biden, capped insulin at $35\/month<\/p>\n<p>FACT CHECK: This is a blatant lie. Trump did not cap insulin costs, President Biden did for seniors through the Inflation Reduction Act. Trump\u2019s Project 2025 wants to repeal it, which would raise\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/iDrrBKEIhf\">pic.twitter.com\/iDrrBKEIhf<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BidenHQ\/status\/1797725488145715598?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 3, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span><strong>Verdict: Unsubstantiated<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The Trump administration did call for a cap on insulin costs for Medicare beneficiaries through Medicare Part D, but the program was voluntary. Trump also signed a July 2020 executive order that applied to federally qualified health centers (FQHCs). Multiple sources and experts indicated that the executive order was finalized but rescinded by the Biden administration.<\/p>\n<p><span><strong>Fact Check:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>In a June 8 TRUTH Social post, Trump said President Joe Biden \u201chad nothing to do with\u201d lowering insulin prices, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/campaign\/4712170-trump-takes-credit-for-insulin-pricing-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Hill<\/a>. Trump accused Biden of trying to \u201ctake credit\u201d for \u201cthings done by others\u201d via the same post, the outlet reported.<\/p>\n<p>In the June 3 X post, Biden-Harris HQ claimed Trump did not cap insulin prices for seniors during his term as president. The post features a video of Fox News journalist John Roberts speaking with fellow Fox News journalist Sandra Smith.<\/p>\n<p>In the video, Roberts, who served as the network\u2019s chief White House correspondent from 2017 to 2021, says Trump had signed an executive order in May 2020 to cap the price of insulin for Medicare recipients at $35 per month, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The video has garnered over one million views as of writing.<\/p>\n<p>The Biden-Harris campaign\u2019s claim appears to be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/good-riddance-country-music-fans-trash-cmt-for-touting-gun-control-campaign-promise-boycott\/\" title=\"\u2018Good Riddance\u2019: Country Music Fans Trash CMT For Touting Gun Control Campaign, Promise Boycott\">missing key context<\/a> about the Trump administration\u2019s actions of capping insulin.<\/p>\n<p>The Trump administration announced plans to lower the cost of insulin for seniors through Medicare Part D prescription drug plans and Medicare Advantage plans with prescription drug coverage, according to 2020 press releases from both the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cms.gov\/newsroom\/press-releases\/president-trump-announces-lower-out-pocket-insulin-costs-medicares-seniors\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hhs.gov\/guidance\/document\/part-d-senior-savings-model-press-release\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)<\/a>. Participating plans provided Medicare beneficiaries access to insulin at $35 per month, both releases indicate. The voluntary initiative <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cms.gov\/priorities\/innovation\/innovation-models\/part-d-savings-model\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">took effect<\/a> on January 1, 2021.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/manhattan.institute\/person\/theo-merkel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Theo Merkel<\/a>, a senior fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute, told Check Your Fact via phone that this initiative is separate from a July 2020 executive order regarding insulin access that applied to FQHCs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrump\u2019s $35 cap, which was not part of his executive order, but rather, the Senior Savings Model Demonstration (CMMI Model), gave seniors the option to select plans to cap insulin at $35 per month and went into effect in 2021,\u201d Merkel said.<\/p>\n<p>Merkel also worked on economic policy in the Trump administration as a special assistant to the president for economic policy at the National Economic Council from 2019-2020.<\/p>\n<p>In May 2020, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/trump-administration-to-take-action-to-cap-insulin-costs-for-seniors\/2020\/05\/26\/0fc6318e-9f84-11ea-9d96-c3f7c755fd6e_story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Washington Post<\/a> reported on Trump\u2019s plan to lower the price of insulin for seniors, citing an event in the White House Rose Garden where the then-president addressed the initiative.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have reached a breakthrough agreement to dramatically slash the out-of-pocket costs of insulin. You know what\u2019s happened to insulin over the years, right? Through the roof,\u201d Trump said during the event.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to this initiative, Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.federalregister.gov\/documents\/2020\/12\/23\/2020-28483\/implementation-of-executive-order-on-access-to-affordable-life-saving-medications\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">issued<\/a> Executive Order 13937, or \u201cAccess to Affordable Life-Saving Medications\u201d on July 24, 2020. According to Merkel, the executive order, which was \u201cfinalized\u201d before Trump left office in January 2021, required FQHCs to \u201cgive insulin to anyone below 300% of the federal poverty level (FPL).\u201d The order was set to take effect on January 22, 2021, but it was \u201chalted then repealed by the Biden administration,\u201d Merkel said.<\/p>\n<p>The executive order, which was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.policymed.com\/2021\/10\/biden-administration-rescinds-trump-administration-insulin-pricing-rule.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">finalized<\/a> on December 23, 2020, according to Policy &#038; Medicine, became subject to a \u201cregulatory freeze\u201d when Biden took office, the <a href=\"https:\/\/factcheck.afp.com\/trumps-insulin-order-frozen-not-scrapped-biden\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">AFP<\/a> reported in February 2021. The freeze occurred to allow the Biden administration time to \u201creview any new or pending rules,\u201d the outlet stated. Likewise, Policy &#038; Medicine noted the Biden administration rescinded the order after delaying it twice. Although the rule became effective on July 20, 2021, it was never implemented, the outlet\u00a0indicated.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/medicine.buffalo.edu\/faculty\/profile.html?ubit=nielse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dr. Nancy Nielsen<\/a>, senior associate dean for health policy at the University at Buffalo\u2019s Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, said the executive order was rescinded due to \u201cexcessive administrative costs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn October 1, 2021, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) rescinded Trump\u2019s order completely,\u201d Nielsen said. \u201cThe reason they gave was excessive administrative costs, making it a burden for the FQHCs to implement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nielsen explained that FQHCs already give low-cost insulin to people who \u201cgo there for care\u201d and Trump\u2019s benefit would \u201cexpand to people who had higher income than they were used to giving the drugs to.\u201d A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.federalregister.gov\/documents\/2021\/10\/01\/2021-21457\/implementation-of-executive-order-on-access-to-affordable-life-saving-medications-rescission-of\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">rescission<\/a> available via the Federal Register confirms HHS rescinded Trump\u2019s executive order due to \u201cthe excessive administrative costs and burdens that implementation would have imposed on health centers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After rescinding Trump\u2019s executive order, Biden then capped the price of insulin at $35 per month for seniors with his Inflation Reduction Act, which was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cms.gov\/newsroom\/fact-sheets\/anniversary-inflation-reduction-act-update-cms-implementation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">signed into law<\/a> in August 2022. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/checkyourfact.com\/2024\/06\/05\/fact-check-fact-checking-bidens-appointed-naval-academy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(RELATED: Fact Checking Biden\u2019s Claim That He Was \u2018Appointed\u2019 To The Naval Academy)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Multiple experts offered their perspectives on the claim with Check Your Fact.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.americanprogress.org\/people\/rapfogel-nicole\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nicole Rapfogel<\/a>, a health policy analyst at the liberal Center for American Progress, emphasized the differences between Trump\u2019s executive order and Biden\u2019s Inflation Reduction Act.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnder the Trump administration\u2019s executive order, Medicare Part D plans could voluntarily participate in a model to cover at least one insulin product of each dosage form at $35 per month in cost sharing. The Inflation Reduction Act, signed by President Biden, required all Part D plans to offer all covered insulin products at $35 per month in out-of-pocket costs, and included Part B insulin products in the cost sharing cap. While the Trump administration\u2019s executive order resulted in<span> <\/span><a title=\"https:\/\/nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kff.org%2Fpolicy-watch%2Fthe-facts-about-the-35-insulin-copay-cap-in-medicare%2F%23%3A~%3Atext%3DIn%25202022%252C%2520President%2520Biden%2520signed%2CB%2520to%2520%252435%2520per%2520m\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/policy-watch\/the-facts-about-the-35-insulin-copay-cap-in-medicare\/#:~:text=In%202022%2C%20President%20Biden%20signed,B%20to%20%2435%20per%20month.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.kff.org\/policy-watch\/the-facts-about-the-35-insulin-copay-cap-in-medicare\/%23:~:text%3DIn%25202022%252C%2520President%2520Biden%2520signed,B%2520to%2520%252435%2520per%2520month.&#038;source=gmail&#038;ust=1718296491261000&#038;usg=AOvVaw3YxmJIyj_N_-IdTslb6Rup\">less than 40%<\/a><span> <\/span>of plans participating in the $35 insulin cost cap in 2022, the IRA, implemented by the Biden administration, resulted in 100% plan participation in 2024,\u201d Rapfogel explained.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cato.org\/people\/michael-f-cannon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Michael Cannon<\/a>, director of health policy studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, labeled both presidents\u2019 plans as \u201cbad ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[The] short version [is this]:\u00a0Trump implemented a bad idea on a small scale. Biden implemented a similar bad idea on a larger scale. Despite the screeching from partisans and solemn intonations from establishment health policy wonks, neither idea is that much different or obviously better\/worse than the other,\u201d Cannon said.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/people\/richard-g-frank\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dr. Richard Frank<\/a>, a senior fellow in economic studies and director of the Center on Health Policy at the left-of-center Brookings Institution, also reiterated that Trump\u2019s executive order only applied to FQHCs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt looks to me that [Trump\u2019s executive order] directs discounts to be granted to patients of FQHCs. The order does not specify a price. It also appears to only apply to FQHCs. That is different from establishing out of pocket caps as the IRA [Inflation Reduction Act] does for all Medicare patients using the insulin products identified in the Act,\u201d Frank said.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, Nielsen said that despite their different approaches to the issue of lowering insulin costs, both Trump and Biden \u201cdeserve some credit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a big difference between both. Trump took a more Republican approach, which doesn\u2019t surprise you. His plan would affect many fewer people, that\u2019s the difference. Whereas Biden\u2019s affects many, many more people,\u201d Nielsen said.<\/p>\n<p>Besides Trump\u2019s previous initiatives, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fda.gov\/news-events\/press-announcements\/insulin-gains-new-pathway-increased-competition\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">opened a pathway<\/a> for biosimilar insulins during his tenure as president.<\/p>\n<p>Check Your Fact has contacted Biden\u2019s campaign, a Trump spokesperson and multiple other\u00a0experts for comment and will update this piece accordingly if one is received.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a June 3 X post, Biden-Harris HQ refuted claims that former President Trump capped insulin prices for seniors, stating it&#8217;s a lie. They clarified that it was President Biden, not Trump, who limited insulin costs to $35\/month, countering assertions made by a Fox host<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":263,"featured_media":2269641,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-2156832864-1-e1718133286607.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[29362],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2269640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-daily-caller"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-2156832864-1-e1718133286607.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2269640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/263"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2269640"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2269640\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2269641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2269640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2269640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2269640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}