Transcript of Pelosi Remarks at Press Conference on Prescription Drugs and Lower Health Care Costs
San Francisco – Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined local public health leaders and San Franciscans for a press conference celebrating the health care provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act, which will lower health care and prescription drug costs. Below are the Speaker's remarks:
Speaker Pelosi. Thank you, Dr. Colfax, for your wonderful opening remarks and your tremendous leadership in our community, taking us through COVID and now monkeypox – but in so many ways, the valued, envied resource that we have in our community. I know that you have a meeting that you have to be at, and so I thank you for honoring us with your presence. And if you have to slip away, we understand. If you weren't so busy, we wouldn't want you to be with us.
[Laughter]
Because – but it's great to be here with Dr. Colfax, with Jessica Altman, the Executive Director of Covered California. We're so proud of Covered California. Thank you, Jessica.
[Applause]
With Rafi Nazarians, Advocacy Director of AARP California. Thank you, thank you, thank you to AARP for making – we can only do so much with inside maneuvering. We can get so far. The outside mobilization, the weighing in of the people on the issue, and AARP has been masterful in that – thank you so much – when we're talking about reducing the cost of prescription drugs.
I have to pull this down, you say? You want me to start all over?
[Laughter]
Beatrice and – now we have two VIPs with us. Beatrice Cardenas-Duncan, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network Ambassador, a leukemia patient. And she is my constituent, which means she is my boss. She is my boss.
[Laughter]
And Oscar James – I mean, a legendary figure here. Advisory board member of the Southeast Health Center. Oscar, I thank you for making this wonderful occasion possible with community – family center. And Keith Seidel. Keith is not speaking, but let's acknowledge – where's Keith? Thank you, Keith, for your leadership here and the hospitality you're extending us this morning, but more importantly the hospitality you extend to people in the community at this center. It is pretty – it is pretty exciting. The Southeast Health Center, now the Southeast Family Health Center.
[Applause]
So here we are. Bay Area families are very grateful for their capable – your capable leadership, Dr. Colfax, so thank you for that. And again, I know we all consider it a privilege to be at the newly renovated Southeast Health – Family Health Center. Quality, affordable health care. We took the tour, and when you take the tour, it's about health care and the rest, but it also recognizes that health is about your mental state and your sense of community and the value that is placed on you. And people here feel very respected because of the nature of this place. It's just remarkable.
We gather here to share the good news that, under President Biden and Democrats in the Congress, health care costs will be coming down. Powered by our Rescue Plan to begin with, health care is more accessible and affordable than ever.
We had tried in the Affordable Care Act to bring down the cost of health care, and we did except when it came to the cost of prescription drugs. We are about the kitchen table of America's working families. How can we lower cost, increase paychecks and, again, make communities safer? And that is what we have done in this, in this piece of legislation.
With the Inflation – we had it in the Rescue Plan. But now we've extended here. With the Inflation Reduction plan, which President Biden signed into law, we add to what we did in the Rescue Plan by driving down the cost of prescription drugs and extending the premium reductions.
This package is about, again, the kitchen table. Here's what the IRA – well, we call it, they don't want us to call the IRA, sometimes the Irish get a little touchy about our calling it the IRA – the Inflation Reduction Act means for Medicare beneficiaries in our City. We capped the prescription drug cost at $2,000. This is a remarkable achievement. We had been trying to do this for a while.
[Applause]
We capped the co-pay so that people don't have to – for insulin, $35 a month.
[Applause]
That's like 1/10th or 1/20th of where it is. And I have to say, we did that without one Republican vote. Sad to say, without one Republican vote. We banned drug makers from predatory price hikes, which they had been engaged in. And we finally empowered Medicare to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices. That is the big triumph.
[Applause]
This is historic. We have been trying to do this for decades, but Big Pharma has weighed in – has weighed in and has a stranglehold on our ability to free Congress from that. Now we want to do more. But this opens the door, and we're very proud of that. And it's historic. Without one Republican vote.
And Big Pharma says, ‘The Democrats are going to pay for this.' Can you imagine that they would say such a thing? To threaten us for lowering costs – prescription drugs for America's families.
Again, San Francisco's – with these provisions, can save millions of dollars for you, just in our own community. And now, we'll hear more from Rafi Nazarians of AARP California on what this cost means for families.
But before we do, it's a – thousands of people in our community are enrolled in Covered California, and this is what IRA does for them. Our Rescue Plan slashed premiums dramatically. Now, we've locked in those lower prices, at least for a period of time.
This means we'll keep affordable insurance. The average enrollee in San Francisco could save over – about $1,400 – $21,000[for seniors]with all of this. We're fortunate, again, today to begin – to be joined by Jessica Altman of Covered California, who can share about how we save more for 90 percent of enrollees in our state.
And we're blessed to be joined by two VIPs, very important people, who will speak eloquently to the IRA's life-changing and life-saving impact. Beatrice Cardenas-Duncan, a leukemia patient, as I mentioned earlier – who knows first-hand the burden of soaring drug costs. And Oscar James, who will tell us about his cane. Where'd he go? Okay. And advisory board members at Southeast Health – Family Health Center, a Medicare beneficiary, a powerful voice for Bayview-Hunters Point for many years. And his reputation is one – he honors us with his presence, as does Beatrice.
The law that we passed was possible because of the – again, I'll say it again, the outside mobilization. You cannot do your best job just inside maneuvering. There has to be the engagement of the public, so that Members of Congress know and hear from their own constituents what they need and how they need it, in the terminology that means something to them. Because we believe that health care is a right, not a privilege.
Too many families face the impossible choice: keep a roof over your head and food on the table or have access to life-saving care. On the campaign trail over the years, I've seen grown men cry because they just can't pay that – prescription drug bills. They have a bedridden family member or something, and they just say, ‘I just – I just can't afford it. And it just keeps getting more.' And it was the one element of the Affordable Care Act, where we're reducing the cost, that just kept going up. And now we have broken that stranglehold.
Lowering health care costs is about justice, and these benefits will flow to the most in need: vulnerable seniors, working families and communities of color. In doing so, we honor Dr. King. Dr. King said: ‘Of all forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and the most inhuman,' he said, ‘because it also – it often results in physical death.'
Now, it is my privilege to introduce Jessica Altman, Covered California, who ensures that our State remains a model to the nation in delivering quality, affordable care to all. Jessica Altman.
[Applause]
***
Thank you very much, Oscar, for your great leadership in the community, your appreciation, what so many of us working together were able to accomplish. And you mentioned asthma. Earlier, I saw a precious little child across the street. We waved and kissed and that. And it's really important to note that, in this legislation, the Inflation Reduction Act, we have the biggest commitment to protecting our environment, to saving our planet with environmental justice ever, ever instituted by any government, any place, at any time.
[Applause]
And this is – again, environmental justice is very important. A part of what President Biden is about – about health justice, about environmental justice, about infrastructure justice, about equity – and he puts resources there to make it happen. Because again, the subject of asthma and its occurrence in communities of color, especially, is one that is an immorality in our society. And this legislation goes a long way for clean air, clean water, as we, again, protect the planet For The Children. So thank you for mentioning that, Oscar, and for your very kind words.
This is a – again, this bill was about health care, and we consider the health of our planet a health issue as well. So I didn't want to just focus on the health aspects of it without segueing into what else is in the legislation. In 2005 and 2006, when we were running to take back the House for the Democrats, we had Six for ‘06: A New Direction for America. Six for ‘06: six pieces of legislation we would pass in the first 100 hours of the new – hours of the new Congress.
We passed all six of them in the House. Five of them became law, one did not. And that one that did not prevail in the Senate was to enable the Secretary of HHS to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices. We had been fighting for it for a while. We put it on our agenda. We passed it in the House. We couldn't get it through the Senate because of the stranglehold that Big Pharma had. And we've been trying ever – well, before then and ever since.
With the outside mobilization, AARP's help and all of you, and the courage of my Members in the Congress to just take that vote and the leadership of President Biden, we have made history, and we have made progress for our seniors, for our people.
I'm sure we'll all be honored to take any questions that you may have. Any questions? No? We anticipated all of your questions that you may have.
Yes, sir.
***
Q. This is a question about January 6th.
Speaker Pelosi. Yes.
Q. The Secret Service had learned there was a threat against you in the – a couple days before January 6th. They didn't notify Capitol Police until the day of. What's your reaction to that?
Well, it's very disappointing because, actually, the reason I have all the security I have is because I'm second-in-line to the Presidency. That never will happen, but nonetheless, it is a continuation of government issue.
So you would think that the Secret Service would have everybody else in the line – all the Secretaries of Cabinet who follow the Speaker of the House in succession have Secret Service protection. The President, the Vice President, of course, have the most Secret Service – but they had just decided that they wouldn't do that. It's totally irresponsible. But we have some questions about the irresponsibility of the Secret Service at the time of January 6th. Some of them performed magnificently. Some of them did not.
I have many threats, you know, probably more than anybody except a presidential candidate and – but I'm more concerned about the safety of my Members, the safety of our staff, the safety of those who cover us in the Capitol. And you see the frivolousness with which the Secret Service treated that. I had the protection of the Capitol Police, to whom I'm very indebted. They saved our Democracy on January 6th, the Capitol Police did.
[Applause]
Q. Does the strong Democratic showing in the primaries portend well for the party moving forward, or do you think it's a one-off?
Speaker Pelosi. Yes. No, this was a big victory for us last night. Since Oscar talked politics, I will too, but that's the question. I would not have brought up a political subject. But we had a big victory last night. People were stunned by the fact that, in a District that was not supposed to go Democratic, that it did.
I give credit to our candidate, Pat Ryan. Excellent. A veteran, public servant, a small business person, so bringing so much to his candidacy and will bring so much to the Congress very soon, because he has won this special election. So, I get one more vote.
[Applause]
Now, we have accomplished all these things under President Biden's leadership. The Rescue package, without one Republican. Infrastructure bill, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, with some Republican votes. The issue of CHIPS and Science and the rest, with some Republican votes. And now, the Inflation Reduction Act, with no Republican votes.
We have 220 Democrats in the House. Franklin Roosevelt had 319 Democrats in the House. So we have to do this very carefully, and I'm very proud, as I said, of the courage of our Members.
But this was – Republicans should be very, very, very scared this morning about their prospects. I have never believed that we would not hold the House. That's my mission. And that's what I hope to accomplish, and I plan to do it. Under the leadership of Sean Patrick Maloney – had a big victory himself last night. He's our Chair. But this one, they expected to win. And they outspent us, but we out organized them. And that's what we are. We don't agonize – we organize.
Q. I have a daughter who recently was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. I'm curious if you have – what you will do with the Insulin Act, and is that the next step in making insulin affordable for all?
Speaker Pelosi. I'm sorry, what do I think of the what?
Q. The Insulin Act?
Speaker Pelosi. Oh yeah, well, we have it in this bill that we will reduce the cost of insulin. But we – we had the insulin bill on the Floor, on its own without anything else. And we only got [12] Republican votes. That means [193] Republicans voted against it.
Now, this bill had more, because it had climate and it had reduction of this or that, so you could – since they think that the climate crisis is a hoax, you see. Well, they had that excuse not to vote for this. But when it was insulin alone, it was only – we only got – we're only able to get twelve – we thought, how could they resist this?
Insulin is costing maybe $600 or $300 a month. This takes it down to a $35 a month co-pay. You would think that, out of respect for their constituents and the broad need, as you mentioned about your daughter, that they would represent their constituents. But no, they represent Big Pharma. And that's really what the success was in this bill – that we were able to loosen the stranglehold of Big Pharma on our families. So thank you for your question. And thank you.
Well, thank you all so much. And let us thank again, this – these family – Family Health Center. Thank you, doctor, for your leadership.
[Applause]
And it's wonderful to be in the community. Oscar has given me these hidden figures, these about – the math women. It's a hidden – Black excellence, patents, inventors. In every way, taking great pride in the African American community, as we do.
You have to know about this area. This area was the leading area in San Francisco of home ownership. Of home ownership. This is about community. And the word community, as we are reminded when we come here, has the word ‘unity' in it. And that's what this health center is about. When you go through there, you see the welcoming presentation called ‘Woven Calm, Woven Calm. Just – just that respect that it has for the people coming in – to calm them, to meet their needs, again, to provide a community center [where] they can come together, share their thoughts, organize, not agonize and make the future better. So For The Children.
Thank you all so much. Thank you.
[Applause]