NEW Toxic forever chemicals in drinking water: Is Canada doing enough?
As the United States sets its first national limits on toxic forever chemicals in drinking water, researchers say Canada is lagging when it comes to regulations.
U.S. President Joe Biden pledged Monday that his social agenda legislation would deliver tangible savings on prescription drugs for all Americans. Relief that consumers have clamored for is now in sight, he asserted.
But first the bill has to pass Congress, where plenty of obstacles remain in its path.
Biden tried to shift the focus to pocketbook provisions overlooked in the political machinations over his $2 trillion legislation, which deals with issues from climate to family life and taxes. Even before concerns over rising inflation, polls consistently showed support from Americans across the political spectrum for government action to lower drug costs.
"It's safe to say that all of us can agree that prescription drugs are outrageously expensive in this country," Biden said at the White House.
"I'm committed to using every tool I have to lower prescription drug costs for Americans consistent with the drug companies getting a fair return on their investment," he added.
But even if Biden and his fellow Democrats succeed in their final push to pass the legislation, a major political difficulty awaits them: Dividends from their prescription drug provisions won't show up right away, while the pain of rising costs is real and present. Democrats will have to point to promised, not actual, savings in next year's midterm elections.
The biggest policy change -- a system for Medicare to negotiate prices for prescription drugs -- won't begin to deliver lower costs until 2025, and then only for a selected set of 10 medicines, as well as insulin products. The number of drugs subject to negotiations would build with time, reaching 100 in six years and continuing to grow by 20 a year.
Other provisions would take effect earlier.
-- Copays for insulin would be limited to $35 a month, starting in 2023. Biden called the high cost of insulin "one of the most egregious examples" of overpriced medicines. He was introduced at the White House by a young woman, Iesha Meza, who couldn't afford insulin for her Type 1 diabetes and was hospitalized in a coma.
-- Drugmakers would be required to pay rebates to Medicare if they raise prices faster than inflation, starting that same year. That provision would benefit people with private insurance as well.
-- Medicare recipients with high drug costs would finally get a cap on their annual financial exposure, $2,000 starting in 2024.
-- Shingles vaccines and other shots covered under Medicare's "Part D" pharmacy benefit would be cost-free to consumers, starting in 2024.
The social legislation has passed the House and is pending before the Senate, where it could come to the floor as early as next week.
Some of the key prescription drug provisions face parliamentary challenges under Senate rules. The powerful pharmaceutical industry is maneuvering to strip out as much as possible. Drug companies oppose the entire bill, arguing that limits on their ability to set prices would stifle investment that fuels innovation.
In a statement following Biden's speech, Stephen J. Ubl, head of the industry lobby Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, said that "a damaging bill jammed through a partisan process will not provide patients struggling to afford their medicines meaningful relief."
But a recent overview of the legislation from the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation found that Medicare negotiations would "put downward pressure" on premiums and out-of-pocket costs for seniors, and other provisions of the legislation would also reduce out-of-pocket costs for those who are privately insured.
Biden said the industry has lost the pricing debate with the American people.
"This is not a partisan issue," said Biden. "Diabetes, Alzheimer's, cancer -- so many other diseases. They don't care whether you are a Democrat or Republican."
"We need Congress to finish the job," he emphasized.
Core provisions of the Biden bill draw from earlier legislation that was supported by then-President Donald Trump but failed to advance. Those include the cap on out-of-pocket costs for seniors and penalties on drug companies that raise prices faster than inflation.
The $35 monthly copays were also introduced under Trump through regulation, and are now available in a limited though growing number of Medicare prescription plans. Biden would greatly expand access and benefits.
Meanwhile, Medicare recipients are about to get an unwelcome illustration of the impact of high drug costs.
About half of next year's $21.60 increase to Medicare's "Part B" monthly outpatient premium is due to the program's need to financially prepare for a pending coverage decision on a $56,000-a-year Alzheimer's drug called Aduhelm. Notices have already gone out to millions of seniors telling them their cost in January will jump to $170.10.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont Independent, is asking the Biden administration to hold back on that increase, a painful hit ahead of any benefits from the prescription drug legislation. But Biden did not address the issue in his speech Monday, and the Democrats' bill is currently silent on it as well.
As the United States sets its first national limits on toxic forever chemicals in drinking water, researchers say Canada is lagging when it comes to regulations.
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
The journey to home ownership can be exciting, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew warns about the trappings of becoming 'house poor' -- where an overwhelming portion of your income is devoured by housing costs. Liew offers some practical strategies to maintain better financial health while owning a home.
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Calgary police have arrested a man and a charge is pending in connection with the death of a toddler in 2022.
New archeological investigations in Guatemala reveal that the ancient Maya people had a ritual of burning royal human remains as a public display of political regime change.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
It took years for Vinnie Deluca to collect more than 400 cards worth of free McDonald's McCafe coffee, a collection that now has "zero value" after the company discontinued the program.
Prince William will return to public duties on Thursday for the first time since his wife Kate revealed she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy for cancer.
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.
While many people choose to keep their medical appointments private, four longtime friends decided to undergo vasectomies as a group in B.C.'s Lower Mainland.
A popular highway in Alberta's Banff National Park now has a 'no stopping zone' to help protect two bears.
B.C. resident Robert Conrad spent thousands of hours on Crown land developing an unusual bond with deer.
A Sudbury woman said her husband was bringing the recycling out to the curb Wednesday night when he had to make a 'mad dash' inside after seeing a bear.