In last night’s State of the Union address, President Joe Biden made two major promises when it comes to health care.

Expanding on his administration’s Medicare cost reductions, he announced plans to further decrease healthcare costs for more Americans.

He also vowed to restore reproductive freedom and addressed the Supreme Court justices directly about their decision to overturnRoe v. Wade.

What exactly do Biden’s promises entail? We outlined his plans in the context of the healthcare landscape today.

Protecting ACA Tax Credits

What Did Biden Say?

“Folks, the Affordable Care Act, the old Obamacare, is still a very big deal.”“I enacted tax credits that save $800 per person per year [and] reduce healthcare costs for millions of working families. That tax credit expires next year. I want to make that savings permanent.”

Who Gets the Tax Credit?

By introducing theAmerican Rescue Planin 2021, Biden enhanced tax credits available to families with Affordable Care Act (ACA) insurance. Specifically,tax credits averaging $800 per personwere extended to households above 400% of the Federal Poverty Line.

While the tax credits are set to expire in 2025, Biden announced plans to make them permanent.

RestoringRoe v. Wade

“Many of you in this chamber and my predecessor are promising to pass a national ban on reproductive freedom. My God, what freedom else would you take away?”

“Clearly, clearly, those bragging about overturningRoe v. Wadehave no clue about the power of women. But they found out when reproductive freedom was on the ballot. We won in 2022 and 2023, and we will win again in 2024.”

“If you, the American people, send me a Congress that supports the right to choose, I promise you, I will restoreRoe v. Wadeas the law of the land again.”

What Is the Current State of Reproductive Rights in the U.S.?

Biden spoke at length about “reproductive freedom” at the address last night, acknowledging he’ll need bipartisan support to restore abortion rights on a national level.

In 2022, the Supreme Court overturnedRoe v. Wade, the landmark case that guaranteed federal protection for the right to have an abortion. The decision has left states to draw up their own rules about reproductive health care.

7 Things to Know About Your Reproductive Rights in a Post-Roe World

Capping Drug Costs for All

“With a law that I proposed and signed—not one of you Republican buddies voted for it—we finally beat Big Pharma. Instead of paying $400 a month or thereabouts for insulin—which only costs ten bucks to make—[people] with diabetes only pay $35 a month now, and [companies] still make a healthy profit. And now I want to cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month for every American who needs it.”

“Starting next year, that same law caps total prescription drug costs for seniors on Medicare at $2,000 a year, even for expensive cancer drugs that can cost $10,000, $12,000, $15,000. Now I want to cap prescription drug costs at $2,000 a year for everyone.”

Who Currently Benefits From the Caps, and Who Stands to Benefit?

Biden was referring to theInflation Reduction Act. A major part of signing it into law involved setting a price cap for Medicare prescriptions.

A $35 per month price cap on insulin went into effect in 2023. And while it’s not set to kick in until 2025, the amount Medicare Part D beneficiaries spend on medication will be capped at $2,000 per year instead of 25% of total drug costs.

Biden said he now wants to extend both price caps to all Americanswith private insurance next year.

Negotiating More Medicare Drug Costs

“This year Medicare is negotiating lower prices for some of the costliest drugs on the market that treat everything from heart disease to arthritis. It’s now time to go further and give Medicare the power to negotiate lower prices for 500 different drugs over the next decade…That will not only save lives; it will save taxpayers another $200 billion.”

How Do Medicare Negotiations Work?

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which runs Medicare, currently has the power tonegotiate the prices of 10 drugswith pharmaceutical companies each year in order to save beneficiaries money. The first 10 drugs selected—ranging from Entresto for heart failure to Imbruvica for blood cancer—each lack less expensive generic alternatives, making affordable access imperative. Now, Biden wants to increase that number to 50 drugs per year.

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