U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen toured West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh on Tuesday morning alongside U.S. Congresswoman Summer Lee.
Yellen was touting the Biden administration’s policy wins, with a special focus on health care which she said is an economic issue.
According to the health policy nonprofit KFF, nearly one in 10 adults are saddled with are saddled with medical debt. A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that more than 8% of Americans, between 18 and 64, report not taking prescription medication due to the cost.
“The president and I believe it’s unacceptable that some Americans need to choose between their health and other needs, like putting food on the table,” said Yellen.
Yellen pointed to the uninsurance rate, which last year dropped to 7.7%, a historic low. Some of this can be attributed to the Inflation Reduction Act, which lowered costs of monthly premiums on health insurance exchanges by expanding tax credits. The Biden administration wants to make these cost-savings permanent, said Yellen.
For Medicare beneficiaries, the IRA also caps the cost of insulin at $35 a month and makes certain vaccines available with no out-of-pocket costs.
Beyond the IRA, the Biden administration is working to give American consumers more predictability and control of their finances by protecting them from medical debt, surprise billing and misleading insurance products, said Yellen.
West Penn has a nurses’ union and is part of Allegheny Health Network not UPMC — the latter has been criticized in Democratic circles for having anti-labor practices.
