Läkemedelsjättarnas makt minskar av Bidens paket

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 is a bill proposed for passage in the 117th United States Congress in July 2022 that aims to curb inflation by reducing the deficit, lowering prescription drug prices and investing into domestic energy production while promoting clean energy solutions. It is a budget reconciliation bill sponsored by Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Joe Manchin (D-WV). The bill was the result of negotiations on the proposed Build Back Better Act, which had been reduced and comprehensively reworked from its initial proposal after receiving opposition from Manchin. It was introduced as an amendment to the Build Back Better Act, and it is expected that the legislative text will be substituted. The package, as proposed by Schumer and Manchin, would raise $739 billion and authorize $370 billion in spending on energy and climate change, $300 billion in deficit reduction, three years of Affordable Care Act subsidies, prescription drug reform to lower prices, and tax reform. Some changes were made to the tax provisions after negotiations with Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ). If enacted, the bill would represent the largest investment into addressing climate change in U.S. history. According to several independent analyses cited by The New York Times, the bill would bring the U.S. significantly closer to fulfilling the goal of cutting US net greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030.

Medicare är ett offentligt finansierat sjukförsäkringssystem i USA. Det gäller för personer som är minst 65 år eller funktionshindrade. Ett krav är att man själv eller ens make/maka ska ha haft en anställning som är täckt av Medicare i minst tio år. Det godkändes av president Lyndon B. Johnson den 30 juli 1965. Vid ceremonin då Johnson skrev under lagen närvarade även den förre presidenten Harry S. Truman, som tilldelades det första medicare-kortet och som blev den som först fick ta del av försäkringen. 2005 täcktes 42,6 miljoner amerikaner av Medicare.