Joe Biden Just Did a Very Smart Thing (Again)

It's called Medicare marketing, and I'm here for it

Base image public domain, Banner is a screenshot from an email sent by Joe, Photoshop effects by author

President Biden sent me an email just now. Isn’t that sweet?

He wanted to remind me of the “historic” changes he and Kamala Harris have made to prescription costs. He went on to remind me that taxpayers are saving $160 billion a year because of the Inflation Reduction Act he signed into law, and that, and here’s the best part…

Vice President Harris cast the tie-breaking vote to secure.

I love the reminder that Kamala cast the tiebreaker. What glorious timing to remind me! Just before an election! Campaigning on the government dime! Don’t like it? Too bad. He has immunity.

If I sound cynical, I am, but, well, times have changed. In normal times, I’d be offended by a president using the Medicare system to beat his chest like this, even if he is bragging legitimately about good policy. The email is going out to every Medicare recipient. In normal times, I’d yell out, “Shady!”

But today, I celebrate it. Dark Brandon is blasting out a campaign email and I’m gonna need shades. It’s fine. It’s necessary, even.

These are not normal times. Biden realizes that this isn’t an election so much as it is the most important battle in a war against Christo-nationalist insurrectionists.

So, yeah, I’m okay with this, Dark Brandon. It’s cool.

This is what happens when mainstream media doesn’t do its job. It’s what happens when CNN, the New York Times, The Washington Post, and others normalize an insurrectionist and serial rapist who dares to try to regain the presidency to avoid prison.

Is the mainstream media broadcasting the fact that total out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs for seniors will be capped at $2,000 a year beginning in 2025, no matter how expensive they are? This is new. It’s a really big deal, but few people know about it yet.

Some drugs cost $40,000 per year and more. Lots of seniors rely on them for survival. Does the mainstream media remind us of this new cap? Does mainstream media remind us of the $35 insulin cap?

If it does, it’s all buried so deep in the bowels of their article libraries that nobody notices. They’re so busy trying to turn this presidential campaign into a horse race so they can get more ad dollars that they don’t cover the nuances of the race. Or important stuff like this.

So, yes. I’m not normally in favor of this kind of tactic. I won’t lie: The email reads like a campaign marketing piece. Too bad. To me, it’s a big FU to mainstream media for not doing their jobs.

The majority of Medicare recipients will read this. I did, and I rarely read anything they send me. An email titled “A message from President Biden on
Medicare Open Enrollment” is likely to get my attention.

After all, if it came from Trump, it might say that Medicare is ending thanks to some fine print in the 900+ page Project 2025 document. If you get an email from the president, you read it.

This will have an impact on, say, Florida, which is in the process as I write this of getting clobbered by yet another climate change hurricane. It’s going to be read by seniors who will, in a week or so, read about more insurance companies fleeing the state as a hapless DeSantis administration chases down trans kids in high school libraries and bathrooms.

Their choice between candidates will be made more clear to them.

I’d like to see more of this, not less. Maybe someday we will live in normal times and I will flip back to my old way of thinking.

The best thing about the email? He even signed it!

I hit reply and told him to grab Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when the wild-eyed destroyer of hospitals arrives in New York for a speech to the United Nations and send him to the Hague in chains. I doubt he’ll read it, but I think we’re still good.

Here is his letter to me in full:

Dear Charles,

With Open Enrollment for Medicare around the corner, I want to make sure you're aware of historic changes to Medicare that are lowering health care costs and ensuring that every American has the peace of mind that comes with quality, affordable health care.

Because Medicare benefits are getting stronger, it is more important than ever to look at your drug coverage for 2025 during Medicare Open Enrollment and make sure you are enrolled in the Medicare Part D plan that is best for you. You can learn more about these benefits and review your options at Medicare.gov starting in early October. Medicare Open Enrollment runs from October 15th through December 7th.

These historic reforms are a result of the Inflation Reduction Act that I signed into law and that Vice President Harris cast the tie-breaking vote to secure. This new law gives Medicare the power to negotiate lower prescription drug prices, like the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs does on behalf of our nation's veterans and servicemembers.

Medicare has been able to cap the cost of insulin for seniors with diabetes at $35 a month for each covered insulin instead of as much as $400 a month. Recommended vaccines, like those to treat shingles, are free for people with Medicare prescription drug coverage.

Starting in January 2025, your total out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs will be capped at $2,000 a year, no matter how expensive your prescription drugs are. That means you will not pay more than $2,000 per year on prescription drugs covered under Medicare prescription drug coverage, or Part D — that includes expensive prescription drugs to treat cancer, chronic illnesses, and more.

And if you have had high drug costs in 2024 and have reached what's called the catastrophic coverage phase, you won't have to pay any more out of pocket.

These reforms not only save seniors money, they also save money for American taxpayers. In fact, taxpayers are expected to save $160 billion over the next decade because Medicare is now able to negotiate drug prices alongside other reforms — and we're just getting started.

In addition to these cost-saving benefits that are in effect in 2025, Medicare recently announced that it has reached agreement with pharmaceutical companies for new, lower prices for ten of the most expensive and most frequently used prescription drugs in Medicare. These new, lower prices will go into effect in 2026, and Medicare will continue to negotiate prices for additional drugs each year for the foreseeable future.

These are just some of the ways my Administration has worked to help you save money on your health care costs and to provide a little more breathing room for you and your families.

Vice President Harris and I believe that health care should be a right, not a privilege. I encourage you to take advantage of these new, lower-cost benefits as part of stronger, better Medicare coverage that you deserve.

Joe Biden