Biden's families plan excludes Medicare expansion, drug price changes backed by Democrats

President Joe Biden’s new plan to boost the social safety net would not expand Medicare coverage, an omission that could irk dozens of Democratic lawmakers who urged him to extend the program to more Americans.

The White House on Wednesday outlined the $1.8 trillion American Families Plan, the second piece of the president’s more than $4 trillion economic recovery program. It calls to expand paid leave and free pre-K, make child care and higher education more affordable, and extend tax credits for families passed as part of the coronavirus relief bill this year.

The plan does not include Biden’s campaign pledges to create a public health-insurance option and cut the Medicare eligibility age to 60. It calls to put $200 billion into making permanent premium cost cuts for people who buy coverage on the individual market. The policy passed as part of the pandemic aid bill.

Dozens of lawmakers from Biden’s party have pushed him to lower the Medicare eligibility age as part of the proposal, saying the move would expand coverage to millions more Americans. They have also asked him to allow Medicare to negotiate prices with drug companies to cut costs. The provision did not make the new package.

Seventeen senators wrote to Biden on Sunday asking him to include both policies in the families plan. More than 80 House Democrats sent a similar letter to the president on Monday.

Biden plans to outline the recovery proposal before a joint session of the Democratic-held Congress on Wednesday night.

Asked Tuesday why the administration did not call to lower the Medicare eligibility age or allow for direct drug-price negotiations as part of the plan, a senior administration official pointed to the funding to cut premium costs. The policy is “one of the most impactful investments we can make” to reduce prices and expand coverage, said the official, who declined to be named.

“The president has been very, very clear that he remains fully committed to negotiations to reduce prescription drug prices — that, you will hear him reiterate as a very top priority and something he deems urgent,” the official said.

It is unclear now whether the exclusion of the health-care policies will threaten passage of Biden’s plan in Congress. As Republicans have opposed both major expansions of the social safety net and tax increases to pay for them, Democrats may have to approve the proposal on their own through budget reconciliation.