• Under a bill that all Senate Democrats voted for and that President Joe Biden signed into law, Medicare was permitted for the first time to negotiate drug prices with manufacturers.
• On the government’s budget scorecard, this is projected to save between $237 billion and $288 billion in federal outlays.
• But that reduction wouldn’t represent cuts to Medicare beneficiaries. Rather, by leveraging Medicare’s market power, the government would be able to pay less for certain prescription drugs, thus preserving the same level of benefits for less money.
In an interview on CNN’s "State of the Union," Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., repeated a talking point previously used by the National Republican Senatorial Committee — which Scott chairs — in campaign ads.
On the show’s Oct. 30 edition, host Dana Bash noted a recent Democratic attack line against GOP candidates, asking Scott, "So, just a simple yes or no, do Republicans want to cut Medicare and/or Social Security?"
Scott replied, "Absolutely not. And the Democrats just cut $280 billion, all Democrats in the Senate and House voted to cut $280 billion out of Medicare just two months ago. And then they want to say Republicans want to cut something?"
After some cross-talk, Bash said, "Just want to correct the record. The Democrats' plan, which is now law, didn't cut … Medicare benefits. It allowed for negotiation for prescription drug prices, which would ultimately bring down the price and the costs for...
Since the start of Pope Leo XIV's papacy in May 2025, he has been the subject of numerous rumors about things he has said, his political opinions and more. As the first American pope in history, m...