Biden pushes for lower health care costs and lashes out at Trump

President Biden visited New Hampshire on Monday to discuss proposals in his recently released budget that he said would lower health care costs for Americans, part of a general election effort to lay out his vision for a second term and convince voters the success of the elections. his first.

Mr. Biden highlighted the promises he made during his State of the Union address last week to cap the price of insulin for all consumers at $35 per month, to make expanded tax credits permanently available under the Affordable Care Act and to reduce costs limit out-of-pocket prescription drugs to $2,000 per year for all Americans.

“It could be transformational,” Mr. Biden said during a speech to about 175 guests at the YMCA Allard Center in Goffstown, N.H.

The new proposals are extensions of health care policies Mr. Biden has already put in place, including limiting the monthly price of insulin and annual out-of-pocket drug costs for those on Medicare. He spoke extensively about health care during his address to the nation last week, in which he attacked “Big Pharma.”

But not many Americans are aware of his efforts — reflecting a broader problem Mr. Biden has convincing voters that his first-term performance has earned him another four years in the White House over his predecessor , Donald J Trump.

For example, only about a quarter of Americans knew that Biden had capped the price of insulin, even though such proposals had received broad public support, according to a December poll by KFF. Even many voters over 65 — those directly affected by the new policies — were unfamiliar with Mr. Biden’s measures, part of the Inflation Reduction Act passed in 2022, the poll found.

Republicans in Congress are likely to oppose much of Biden’s budget.

New Hampshire, which has one of the oldest populations in the country, was an appropriate setting for Mr. Biden to discuss health care. Although he won New Hampshire comfortably in 2020, the state has swing leanings and a Republican governor. This year, the governor’s office is up for grabs and the race is expected to be competitive.

Biden’s appearance on Monday was less energetic and boisterous than his State of the Union address and the two campaign events he held last week in Pennsylvania and Georgia. Sometimes it was hard to hear him. Perhaps that reflected the less lavish setting, an official policy rollout hosted by the White House, rather than a political rally hosted by his campaign. The crowd sat in white chairs on an indoor tennis court that had been redecorated for Mr. Biden’s speech.

Mr. Biden did become more talkative as he recited lines from his campaign speeches, especially when they were about Mr. Trump. He noted that the former president suggested during an interview that aired earlier on Monday that he would consider cutting Social Security and Medicare spending.

“I will never allow this to happen,” Biden said. “I will not cut Social Security, I will not cut Medicare.”

The relatively quiet atmosphere at the New Hampshire event made it possible to hear a Trump supporter outside the YMCA shouting “Let’s Go Brandon” over a loudspeaker, a coded insult against Mr Biden. About a dozen pro-Trump demonstrators had gathered there despite the New Hampshire cold.

They were joined by two people demonstrating against Israel’s war in Gaza, a reminder that Mr. Biden faces a protest movement over the Middle East conflict from some of his own supporters that is complicating his re-election bid.