A recent tweet from the Biden campaign’s rapid response team falsely claims that Trump did not sign an executive order to cap insulin costs at $35, calling Fox News anchor John Roberts’ claim that Trump did so “a blatant lie.”
Contrary to the Biden campaign’s claims, President Trump did take such action.
“I seem to remember that back in May of 2020, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid said that President Trump had signed an executive order to cap the price of insulin for Medicare recipients at 35 bucks,” says Roberts in the clip. “Now, maybe I’m misremembering that, but I think it kind of already happened.”
His timeline may be a few months off, but he’s not misremembering. It did already happen.
In May 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced the Part D Senior Savings Model, developed under President Trump’s leadership. Participating plans would cap insulin copays to $35 per month’s supply, and over 1,750 Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D plans applied to offer lower insulin costs.
Trump’s executive action was widely reported on, and the Trump White House relayed this information via a public fact sheet.
“No effort will be spared to give America’s seniors the care and support and devotion and love they have earned and that they deserve,” Trump said in a statement discussing the announcement.
Later, in July 2020, Trump signed four executive orders aimed at lowering the cost of insulin. The first of these, Executive Order 13937, required Federally Qualified Health Centers to pass 340B discounts on to patients. It aimed to reduce the financial burden of insulin for Americans who were either uninsured or otherwise facing high out-of-pocket costs. The other three executive orders advanced similar cost-reduction goals.
It’s clear that the only blatant lie here is from the Biden campaign.
In addition, the Biden administration reversed Executive Order 13937 before Trump’s cost-saving measures could take effect. Biden issued a freeze on the order less than a week after his inauguration. He fully canceled implementation of the order later that year.
In 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act was passed by both chambers of Congress and signed by President Biden. The law included a $35 per month cap on monthly insulin costs. Sound familiar? It’s the same cap developed under Trump’s Part D Senior Savings Model in May 2020.
All we are witnessing now is the Biden administration’s attempt to take credit for the policy the Trump administration advanced in the first place.
