Niera tanden and senator joe manchin on Health Policy issues facing the u. S. They spoke at politicos 2024 Health Care Summit in washington, d. C. Hello, everybody. Beyonce is for me. I need that in order to be excited in the morning. I heard that earlier. They know, they know. As kevin just said, i work and write the politico playbook and am excited to kick off our Health Care Summit and am joined by President Biden from hamden. Thanks for having me. You h fun . It will be a blast. Your portfolio is expansive, domestic policy. Well try to stick in e an easy topic and everybody agrees on everything, very good. I want to start with probably the most important topic of today,osis empick. Today, o its not time to its time to go further and give medicare the power to negotiate lower prices for 500 different drugs over the nexthe government to negotiate lower costs on popular weight loss drugs like ozempic . People want to know. I am people. Thank for you that question. The Inflation Reduction Act asks c. M. S. To do a expenditure drugs and drugs that have been on the market and specified in the law that drugs have been on the markef years a. Decides what drugs to negotiate. Thats a decision that they make. They definitely are focused on expensive drugs for seniors that that were negotiating for the first time, c. M. S. Is negotiating and totally happening but all 10 Drug Companies that have been in the first lot, these drugs cover blood clots, blood cancer, diabetes, drugs seniors really rely on. And were excited for the fact that we are well on the way to seeing those 10 lower drugs by september of this year. And in the coming years, we want to see more drugs. I cant tell you whether ozempic or wegovy. But i will say what the president was doing in the state of the union was announcing a policy to all major drugs that are real cost drivers, thats 50 drugs a year, 500. That builds on medicare and farreaching consequences. The president talked about cracking down on price gouging and capping insulin at 35 for americans. A question that comes to mind is how can he keep those promises with Congress Working the way it does or does not . Well, thats a great question. So i will say, for a long time i thought there was no way that any president would get the power to negotiateru prices. I have been working in Health Policy for maybe a decade or three. And ive been on a series of campaigns and worked at a think tank. Weve all talked for years about giving power to medicare to negotiate drug prices like the v. A. Of defense. And perhaps, because the power of the industry, no president was able to deliver until joe biden. He got that power to negotiate. Now, it is contentious. The republicans did vote against the Inflation Reduction Act. They have wanted but i would sas incredibly popular and myhat ife president wins a second term that we expect in politico, agea Going Forward because there is strong interest. One of the things that the president on rope lines and Events People really understand what drug prices mean for them, 35 insulin and get drug prices down. I feel optimistic we can create a Democratic Congress might help. Im not here for politics. But u know, there is uniformity in the party to really make this a priority. We can focus attention to the public on an issue. There were support for the president s agenda just going by public polling. And that is an important point. At important moment for state of the union. The other moments and i imagine and its not for me but i imagine what advertising is about as well and you saw that again an important part of the president s first ad was on this issue as well. We all have to do the work getting the message out. In an election year, there vehin focus their attention. And i would say health care is a place where the stakes are relatively high. As a person who works to protect the aft against republican ef it, today, i would say millions more people have benefited from the aft. 21 million more people as when joe biden were in the health care exchanges. Many more have health care. And you are talking about million, 40 million americans in total if the effort to repeal it comes back again. Move to opioids. You announced a challenge to increase training on and access lifesiesk opioid overdoses. You have invested billions and billions in this in opioids and protecting people from them. What is the money tied to this effort. We have significa funding in the budget and we also had a dramatic increase in funding over the last several years into opioid response. What this effort this morning was about is what is the privatepublic partnership opioa specific way. We are proud of the fact that the f. D. A. Approved overthe counter medication that does save lives. But the real question is to get that ma locksin in the hands of people. And this access to narcan can save lives. Todays announcement was an announcement with the private sector activity will be, a range of companies have announced efforts to make it available but does not take away from the investments we have made in states and want states to use their resources resources to make mel objectionin. This is something going on for years and people are understanding it. Curious what the federal governments rule in fighting this crisis . I think excellent question. We have multiple roles. One from a medication side, making access medication a much easier is importa. And treatment. Er is significant demand for treatment that is not being met in every corner. And that is for samhsa. But agency that deals with providing treatment dollars to localities. But also the savings in their dollars, their grant dollars to do ts as well. This is a challenge, which is a lot of dollars best way to program these dollars to make them most effective. I spoke last week in rural survivors and innovation at the state level but maximizing that impact. I want to move to i. V. F. Access and the president wants to codify roe v. Wade. And he has agreed to a filibuster reform on abortion. One of our speakers, joe manchin and sinema are both leaving. Are you hopeful that he would be do this filibuster and codify roe v. Wade in the next administration . I think this is one of the central debates this fall. I think the president has made reproductive freedom that first issue of his issue layout. That was no and made freedoms and rights agenda for the next year and reproductive freedom and access to abortion is a central pillar of that. I think that the president and even in the discussion of i. V. F. , what is happening with i. V. F. Is women who are desperate to have children are now a crazy chaotic system even after the actions of last week are concerned about their ability to do that. Cornsr women and front and center and my hope is weill see the last couple of years as almost unexpected majority that comes e rights around it and you will have a congress and a senate that a full majority that respects wants to restore roe and one of the first actions we can take. When i talk to women in the reproductive space, they say there is a frustration with democrats who work in the Biden Administration not working on it earlier. I think there was a complacency within the Democratic Party that roe was possibly on the chopping block. That■5 changed. 2008, 2009, we did not have a prochoice vote majority in the senate. I totally understand that concern and as someone who was thinking of those issues at the time, we didnt have that. Lets have the fight. And ben nelson of nebraska, way back, those who want to go way back. You know, i have been privileged to talk to the president of this issue this as a central element of dignity for women and one of the few times in our historyhe really taken a right that people have enjoyed and taken it back. So i think this is athat and i appreciate the frustration that people have, but i will say for those of us who were on the front lines arguing about this and did say things like hey, if you repeal rmp oe, you wouldthre allowed to say that . We are. We have been what is at stake is the ability of women to control their own future and that is what is at stake. And last week speaker johnson sang radical things. And well see a contrast this entire year. When you talk to people who are here in the abortion advocacy space, one thing i heardbout dobbs and shoutout to my colleagues. I hear thankfulness for and then doing and the thankfulness for the president s action and there is a little bit of frustration with President Biden and the thing i often here is they have an Uneasy Alliance and want him to him doing more. And in the state of the union, the prepared remarks had abortie the state of the union, the word abortion wasnt in there. Why did he has an issue with saying the word abortion. A few weeks ago at a rally in virginia, he attended abortion. Who is fighting for you. And the president has been fighting on this issue. He is making it a central element in his state of the union. Without saying the word. Reproductive freedoms. It is about abortion. And fundamentally i think about reproductive freedom and women. My take on this is he is taking every actione can do in this space. We are fighting aggressively and Crystal Clear that this will be a central component of th agenda Going Forward and the contrast. He has been clear of where he stands and what he is fighting for and how he sees reproductive freedom and abortion and the other side is not just about taking restricting a right but pulling us back decades whe women didnt have the full opportunities that they have today. They want to hear him say the word often . Vice president harris said it. Do you feel his actions dont i would say to me, actions speak louder than words and important to think about the actions and words do matter. But here, thetalked about abortd reproductive freedom. But fundamentally the issue is whose side the political leaders on, are they on your side and fighting through the issues you care about or on the side of taking away your freedoms. And right now, the moderate position on the other side is a nationwide ban. One form of a nationwide ban versus one form of a the president is in the trenches every day and that is what matters. Hanext steps from the administration not just concrete steps and making promises, what can over the next eight months . Im going to be real with everybody. You. It is hard to take a right, a constitutional right and rip i e action. He has done a lot we have tried to do a right now, the department is legitimating a way■ women who need access to Emergency Care can get it even if it includes when thr life ans abortion. There are fights all around on these issues and fighting as strongly as can. But feel like you have gone through all the executive actions. The door is open. Other exece actions, we would love to hear about them. The truth is be hers 100 honest, we have to restore roe, when the people speak, political and my hope is that well see as strong a majority come out and stand behind roe and we will have a congress that responds to that. Its on■÷ the cusp of it if we t a majority in the senate and majority in the house. This is a big order of business for the president. San Francisco Mayor had mandatory testing for welfare and im curious what the white house stance is on those kinds of things . I think you will have to ask h. H. S. If there are any federal funds there. That is a significant question. We dont have any rules that prohibit that kind and my initial take it is important for us to reduce poverty our country. We have a couple of minutes here and bounce over to the possible menthol cigarette ban. This has been bouncing around. And seems like we might have an answer later on this month. When i talk to want to know what is the holdup . Its in the process, a big rule. And i cant talk about it but it is■ rule. It is one that takes time to get through. What is the president s stand on the president s ban . I cannot discuss it. Last question. When i talk to voters and get on the road, they president and i know you are not political and they say we are going to finish the job and he laid it out at the state of the union, we give you four more years, what are the things we arent talking about that are impacting Peoples Health all the time that thisn would focus on . That is a great question. People are entitled to know what a president will do for them. It means ensuring that were helping drugs seniors. We have a 2,000 cap and the president talked about that for Prescription Drug costs so every american would have the security that drugs of control. And covering millions more people and access to care and de challenges like longterm care that families face. We are doing with the most personal decisions, health care is different from Energy Policy or financial policy because people can locate their most personal decisions, but this is a president who gets it and he understands how important protecting Peoples Health care and expanding health care for people and people dont feel the need that they have to take one pill instead of■wo or skip a day because they cant afford it. They understand and lowering drug costs costs and the security of the Health Care System available to all americans is a top priority. I could do this all day. And thank you so much for the conversation. Thank you for the questions. [applause] he offered me moonshine that we cant have this early in the morning. Senator man church announced earlier he would not run for president and not run for reelection and last year in the senate and politics would you say . Really . You opposed her. And we had comfort think shed person and wish her well. I thought it was the wrong fit for the wrong job when body had that type of who buyin. And o. M. B. Is Important Office and i was re supportive than against someone. Its one thing the people here are against knowing what theyre for. Im not going to be against anything if i think someone is better prepared or would do a better job. You get along with her . N proper. She is kind to my wife who was in a car accident and she got a chance to talk to her. These things arent personal. She was asked about one of your critical issues, the filibuster it might be changed for abortion rights. Sounded like President Biden talked about consideringhat in the future. Greatest mistake we are making is the filibuster in the senate and gives us certainty at all tay weave a cans of keeping a piece of legislation or keeping a change in legislation that might have a chance to survive. Ifou are concerned about the house and what goes on in the house right now, you do that to the senate, and that will be on steroids. What you are seeing in the house will be on steroids. 51vote threshold. The whole purpose of who we are as a country, imagine the founding fathers, 13 colonies and Continental Congress someone had to say pennsylvania, massachusetts a virginia, guess what we have a bicameral and peoples house and the upper d you are going to have two representatives. Can you someone in massachusetts saying you mean rhode island and delaware is going to have the same voice and same power that i have. And my state is carrying this country . Yes. What is the best way to get roe v. Wade you are not going to eliminate everything. Roe v. Wade was law for 50 years, it wasnt pro ky choice or prolife enough. Which dn put it to threaten people. So murkowski, susan and myself we want to codify. When you first came to the senate, did you have that same belief . I have always been there. I have been considered prolife. But increst, rape and a womens choice, two daughters and six granddaughters, i am totally outnumbered. One thing we will be talkingg prices. A lot of americans dont know the actions that you and President Biden helped to lower drug prices as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. What do you hear on the ground from west veepians. If we were serious about lowering drug prices with the buying power we have as a government, it should go through the v. A. And we dont. And there is a reason that we dont. And thats a shame because we had a hard time getting the buying power of the medicare to buy down and drug price negotiations. And by the time at the end of the day we had limited amount of drugs. Just letcan do it, medicare and medicaid should go through the v. A. Should the administration what they have done and what they plan to do . Sure. At the end of the day, i can tell you what i would like to see happen. Going in with certain thoughts. But never walked away from anything that i thoughtoint a tn though i wanted to clear up x, y, z. Those who watch sports, we are going to see a touchdown every play. You want to see a home run . Not the way the game is played. You want a basket every time you shoot, not the way we play. We have not accepted the challenge of the sports. And progress we make, did you my good friend came into our Bipartisan Group and we had as many on the electoral count act and 10ds and 10rs and hit c in and had a different venue and he said thats not going to work. And we negotiated back and forth, he said im for it. And im for it. Every time. Thats not what you hear from most politicians. Right now, we are fighting these things on the front the br crisis which is absolutely the greatest crisis we face as a nation today. The border. We have millions of people coming here we dont know who they are and what their intentions and that is dangerous and have to be shut down. My republican friends and i agreed we shouldnt be doing aid and talking about aid unless we do the same importance at the border, security of our own country. And had a build on a and everybody seemed to be for it. On monday, President Trump said not a good bill and they just misrepresented the bill. James lankford, the most conservative and character value personal to a deal. The 5,000 thing was misrepresented 5,000 people a day. Thats all you can adjudicate. And put t