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Vice President Kamala Harris visited Durham on Thursday to talk about the president's plan to make healthcare more affordable.

<b>DURHAM, N.C.</b> — Vice President Kamala Harris visited Durham on Thursday to talk about the president's plan to make healthcare more affordable.

Harris said that in 2023, the Biden administration will cap the cost of insulin prescriptions for those on Medicare to $35 a month. Then in 2025, the administration will limit out-of-pocket drug costs to $2,000 a year for Medicare recipients.

The moves will help those with diabetes and Harris said was possible through the Inflation Reduction Act that was passed in August.

Harris spoke for about 20 minutes on lowering healthcare costs for senior citizens at the Durham Center for Life in front of a few hundred people.

Vice President Kamala Harris talks in Durham on Thursday. This is Harris' second visit to Durham this year.

<p>senior pharmacist located upstairs. The pharmacist opened its doors in 1994 to help older adults with limited incomes obtain and better manage their medications. In 2006 when the Medicare Part D. Drug benefit was enacted, we began helping older adults and adults with disabilities navigate their complex Medicare coverage options. This made us very familiar with medication challenges for older adults. Moreover, this is why we are very supportive of this new federal legislation that is a game changer for Medicare beneficiaries across our nation in particular. The new law will support individuals with multiple chronic conditions requiring a number of medicines insulin included, as well as people with cancer and other serious conditions who are prescribed medications. They simply cannot afford. The new legislation makes significant strides by redesigning the part d drug benefit. This will help keep medication prices down as opposed to the annual, sometimes stunning increases. At the same time, it is projected to reduce federal spending honorable lifetime and with deep gratitude, I introduced the individual who broke the tie and cast the 51st vote on the U. S. Senate floor that led president designed the inflation reduction act as the law of the land On august 16th, the vice president of the United States, Kamala Harris. See please have a seat. Good afternoon and it is so good to be back in north Carolina and neural governor. I thank you. I was saying for years, he and I were attorneys general together when I was attorney general of California and he was north Carolina and he's been so important as a partner to the president and with everything that we've been doing from the initial work that we did around what we need to do to bring relief for small businesses to the work that we've done with the infrastructure uh law and now of course this, so governor, thank you always for your leadership. It's so good to be back with you. Um and Gina, thank you for your work this afternoon. We had a tour of the facility and got to meet with some extraordinary leaders, including our seniors who have been providing such an important voice on these issues and having the ability with such courage to tell your personal stories. And I'm looking at a few of them right now. Um to tell your personal stories in a way that really gives voice to so many folks who are not in this room right now but need to be heard. So I thank you for that. Um and Mayor O'Neil, where are you? I want to thank you for all of your leadership is too good to be back with you again as well. And we are joined by so many leaders. I've seen some old friends. I mean long standing, we don't say that and many new ones and I want to thank you cleaning our administrator for the centers of Medicaid and Medicare services chiquita brooks. Sure, were you there? She is um, I will tell you, she has broke so many barriers in terms of her leadership and being the first in so many ways, but on this and so many issues, she is always fighting the people of our country and in particular those who deserve to have the dignity that comes with having a nation think about their care and doing it in a way that is thoughtful and comprehensive. So thank you madam Administrator for that. Uh, congressman David Price, I see you there. Thank you. You have been representing this district for over 30 years and again, a real champion for North Carolina. And I've seen him in the halls of Congress doing the work of making sure that we are always thoughtful about this community. So I have worked with many folks over the years. Um, and I will tell you that the folks who are leaders, who I have just mentioned in this room know this state so well and the dreams of the people of this state. And um, and so that's why I'm here because the president and I wanted to make sure that we were highlighting the work of the leaders here in Durham and in north Carolina on this very important issue that impacts people around our nation. So That being said, Let's understand today in America, there are more than 50 million people over the age of 65 And North Carolina has one of the largest and fastest growing populations of seniors in the country with currently and it's growing just under two million seniors. And who are we talking about? We're talking about folks that have spent their entire lives working hard building families and contributing to their community and creating a path for so many of us to follow. However far too often our nation does not provide our seniors with the support and the resources they need. In fact, I'm sad to share with you that in our nation right now, at least 9% of our seniors live in poverty Among women 80 years old and over that number jumps to 14%. Today, one in 10 seniors reports experiencing elder abuse and that's an issue I've been working on since back in my days when I was a district attorney and on the issue of elder abuse far too often they suffer silently for fear that to tell anyone um might mean that they will be deprived of their ability to live independently um and be taken seriously and treated with respect. And today millions of seniors still struggle to afford health care they need and they deserve. But our administration is determined to lower healthcare costs for our seniors. And a key part of that work is lowering the cost of insulin. So why is that a big deal? Well, because today, one in three seniors in our nation has diabetes. And for seniors on Medicare, a month of insulin can cost more than $100 extremely expensive. I've talked with our seniors in different parts of the country who talk about how they ration their insulin because they cannot afford to refill their prescription. I met with one of the community pharmacists just a few minutes ago talking about what he has seen when seniors come into the pharmacy and say, I'm not, I can't refill my prescription yet because I'm not ready to be able to pay that until the beginning of next month. Right. So folks who need a prescription field because a doctor, medical health professional said that's exactly what you need to alleviate your pain or improve the quality of your life, unable to fill the prescription. That would do just that folks to talk about with their insulin. Then to stretch it out, we'll do one day on and one day off, which means that the medical professionals here can tell you to do that means that they endure dizziness and nausea and blurry vision because they simply don't have any other choice but to try and stretch out and understand the importance of this. In terms of the numbers of folks were talking about the seriousness of this issue. A diabetic goes for too long without insulin coma or even die and no one should have to worry and wonder About whether they will be able to afford the insulin that keeps them alive. And that is why starting next year, our administration will cap the cost of insulin prescriptions for people on Medicare to $35 a month. And frankly it's longer. And the benefit will be to cover at least 1.4 million people in our country as part of our administration's larger campaign to lower the cost of prescription medication across the board for years. And I've seen this over the years of being an attorney general, Roy knows this one. We we defend consumers rights to being in the Senate and washing it from Washington Washington, D. C. And the lobbyists to being vice president. For years, The largest drug companies have made billions of dollars in profits selling drugs for 10 to 100 times what they cost to make for years. Big pharma, that's what we call that group. Big pharma has fought to grow their profits by preventing Medicare from negotiating lower drug prices. And for years they won because you see Medicare was required by law by law to pay whatever price the drug companies set not anymore more. So last month our administration gave Medicare the power to negotiate with big pharma on behalf of our seniors and understand what that means. It means, yes, we changed in the game, but it also means this in terms of breaking down the issue. It means that our seniors should not be out there having to fight for themselves against these powerful interests at a stage of life where they have earned the right to be treated with dignity by their community and their society and their nation. They should not have to be out there advocating for themselves, especially when they are at a moment of need in terms of being in pain or being sick and just simply needing to be able to have access and to be able to afford the thing that will give them a better quality of life. So this single change allowing Medicare to negotiate will lower the price of prescription drugs for millions of americans. Another health care issue for millions of our fellow americans, including our seniors, is the issue of hearing aids. Everybody here knows what I'm talking about, right? It's a big issue is a big issue for those who know and want to talk with folks who need a hearing aid and for those who need a hearing aid. A big role, millions of people in our nation depend on hearing aids to help them live a full and independent life to speak. For example with the teller at the bank or the person who is the server at the restaurant to hear the sermon in church or listen to a grandchild talk about their first day of school. But hearing AIDS are expensive. Sometimes they cost more than $5,000 a pair. And for people who are 70 years and older who need hearing AIDS. The numbers I've looked at tell us that only one in three of those in that category has ever actually used a hearing aid because of all these barriers to getting them. So this is why President biden and I recently took a long overdue step to make hearing aids available over the counter. Right? So no prescription go to community pharmacist. Right? So this will reduce the average cost of a pair of hearing aids by thousands of dollars. Soon americans with mild to moderate hearing loss will be able to buy their hearing aids at the local drugstore or pharmacy, no prescription needed, you know what you need on some of these things focus self diagnosed, right? I don't know, I can't hear something that I want to hear. And so it's practical as well as absolutely intended to bring down the cost and allow so many people to access and floored the help they need. And so that brings me to my final point for today, which is the important work that we are doing to cap out of pocket prescription drug costs. So imagine this, Imagine for example, a 70 year old woman goes in for her annual checkup and she complains about stiffness and and pain in her joints. And after running some tests, the doctor diagnoses her with rheumatoid arthritis. And let's say a few days later she goes down the street to her pharmacy to fill the prescription As she learns that the co pay for a single month of pills is six or $700 Across our nation. Seniors with chronic medical conditions are paying as much as $10,000 a year for the medication. They need to simply stay healthy and stay alive. Seniors who have to choose between paying their rent and filling their prescription. Seniors who are forced to cut their pills in half because they cannot afford their full prescription, a prescription for the dosage that they actually require. This has got to stop, it's got to stop. And this is why beginning in 2025, our administration will cap out of pocket prescription drug cost to $2,000 a year for people on Medicaid and Medicaid doesn't matter again. You know, we've been fighting to actually extend a lot of this beyond Medicare book. This is where we are right now. The fight is not over. Um, but what this means is that no matter how much your prescriptions cost, no matter how many prescriptions you have and so many of our seniors have, it doesn't, or more prescriptions that they need to take For you, you will pay no more than $2,000 a year for your medicine. And so that means if you are on Medicare or if you will soon be on Medicare, you will no longer have to worry that one terrible diagnosis will bankrupt you or your loved ones. So for president biden and me, it really does come down to this, access to health care should be a right, not a privilege for those who can afford it. And just think about it affordable healthcare is, it's about your health and it's small. Warm. First of all, we're talking about an essential need, right? I'm not talking about a luxury. We're talking about an essential need. Also access to affordable health care is about independence, independence from debt, independence from fear, independence from pain. And affordable health care. And access to affordable healthcare is also about peace of mind. The peace of mind that comes from knowing you will never have to choose between your physical well being and your financial well being and affordable health care. Ultimately, it's about dignity, the dignity to which all people are entitled and deserve. And so that is why President biden and I will continue with this fight so that every person in our nation and every senior in our nation can access health care they need and deserve and with them may God bless you and may God bless America. Right way. Right, well, good to see you. Yeah, well, it's like the perfect thing</p>

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Kamala Harris speaks in Durham about making healthcare more affordable

Kamala Harris in Durham to talk fighting inflation

"Access to affordable health care is about piece of mind," Harris said. "It is ultimately about dignity."

“Access to healthcare should be a right - not a privilege for those who can afford it,“ she added.

Harris heard personal stories from four people at the center, including one person's experience of living with shingles.

Gov. Roy Cooper also spoke before Harris, noting that Harris has visited North Carolina five times since she's been in office with President Joe Biden.

Harris was also expected to attend a Democratic Party fundraiser at a location disclosed only to ticketed guests. Those tickets range in price from $10,000 to $50,000.

Harris' last visit to North Carolina came in July, when <a href="https://www.wral.com/story/vp-kamala-harris-visiting-charlotte-today-to-discuss-reproductive-rights/20383798/">she addressed reproductive rights</a> in the wake of the Supreme Court decision that ended the federal right to abortion.

In March, <a href="https://www.wral.com/video/vp-kamala-harris-tours-durham-tech/20166926/">Harris visited Durham Technical Community College to talk about jobs</a>.

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'A right - not a privilege': Kamala Harris announces future caps on drug costs in Durham visit

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VP Harris visits Durham to talk about healthcare costs for seniors