VP Kamala Harris’s Policies and Stances on Health Care, Reproductive Rights Take Center Stage

On Sunday, July 21, 2024, President Joe Biden announced that he would not seek re-election, and instead focus on serving out the remainder of his presidency. Shortly after, the president offered his full support and endorsement of Vice President (VP) Kamala Harris to step into the position of Democratic nominee. Other Democratic politicians and delegates have also stepped forward to offer their support to Harris.^1,2

VP Harris showed more liberal or progressive stances toward health care compared with President Biden during their 2020 campaign. It is currently unclear whether VP Harris will choose to carve her own path or embrace some of President Biden’s stances.³

Image credit: Erin Schaff/Pool/AFP | GETTY | People.com

Abortion and Reproductive Rights

VP Harris speaks freely and openly about abortion, with experts noting that her unapologetic and firm stance can potentially serve as a turning point in reproductive rights. Additionally, her visit to a Planned Parenthood in St. Paul, Minnesota in March 2024 marked the first occasion that a president or vice president visited a clinic that provided abortions. Although President Biden has shown support for reproductive rights and addressed the topic before and during his presidency, he was previously not in favor of abortion; however, VP Harris has been consistent in her stance.⁴

The day that Florida began to enforce its 6-week abortion ban, VP Harris called the restriction another ban that forced women to “live a horrific reality” and without access to an essential part of medical care. Traveling to another state for an abortion can be an unaffordable expense for some individuals.⁵ Additionally, she stresses that a second Donald Trump term will only further imperil the right to abortion. Previously, Trump said that he would not sign a federal abortion ban, leaving the issue to the states.^5,6 Importantly, most individuals do not know they are pregnant at 6 weeks.

“The extremists who wrote this [6-week ban] either don’t know how a woman’s body works, or they simply don’t care,” said Vice President Harris.⁵

The abortion restrictions across the country have also led to confusion around pharmacists' provision of some medications, such as mifepristone, which is commonly used in medication abortions. Although the Supreme Court recently rejected a challenge to mifepristone access, legal expert Ron Lanton III, Esq., partner at Lanton Law, told Pharmacy Times that the issue of the FDA's ability to regulate drugs will almost certainly come up again in the future.⁷

"This issue is not going away and there will be other plaintiffs or other actions brought to the Court in the future. There are other cases on the dockets all over the country that at any time could affect this issue in one way or another," Lanton said.⁷

The Affordable Care Act and Medicare

Fourteen years after President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) into law, health care continues to remain a winning issue during presidential campaigns. Both President Biden and VP Harris visited North Carolina to campaign on health care policy and stress the need to protect this act.⁸ Despite promises to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act in 2016, former President Trump has recently denied that he wants to “terminate” the act, and instead wants to make it “stronger and less expensive,” but he has not provided details on how he would do so.⁸

Importantly for pharmacists, the ACA extends greater recognition to pharmacists, including the ability to provide cognitive services as part of patients' overall care. This greater inclusion has directly led to elevated roles for pharmacists in patient care, as well as new streams of revenue.⁹

Both President Biden and VP Harris pushed for initiatives to lower medical costs. VP Harris has also positioned herself as “tougher” on the health care industry in comparison to the current president, and endorsed a transition to Medicare for all. However, she noted that there could still remain a role for private plans as long as they follow the rules that are set by Medicare.¹⁰

“This preserves the options that seniors have today and expands options to all Americans, while also telling insurance companies they don’t run the show,” wrote VP Harris on this initiative.¹⁰

Her vision is to expand Medicare’s services to also include vision care, dental care, hearing aids, mental health services, substance use disorder treatment, and comprehensive reproductive health care services. It is currently unclear how aggressively this would be pursued, with other progressive Democrats in Congress backing off on calling Medicare for All a “top priority.”¹⁰

Equitable Pay in Health Care and Drug Pricing

The vice president has also pointed out efforts to address disparities in health care that were spotlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, she said these disparities stem from broader systemic inequities, and although she has not confirmed this as part of her campaign, she will likely continue to speak out for equal pay for women and minority groups.

VP Harris has also expressed a desire to ensure that US consumers do not pay more than other countries for prescription medications, noting that her proposal would cap US drug prices at the average of other countries (eg, Japan, United Kingdom, and France). Additionally, she proposed that payments for drugs whose prices rise faster than the rate of inflation should be limited.¹⁰

References

1. Watson, K. Biden drops out of 2024 race against Trump. here’s what we know about what happens now. CBS News. Updated July 21, 2024. Accessed July 23, 2024. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-happens-biden-steps-down-2024/

2. Kekatos M. As Kamala Harris campaigns for presidency, where she stands on health care issues. ABC News. July 22, 2024. Accessed July 23, 2024. https://abcnews.go.com/Health/kamala-harris-stands-health-care-issues-vies-democratic/story?id=112159503

3. Kapur S, Lovelace B. What a Kamala Harris presidency would mean for health care in America. NBCNews.com. July 22, 2024. Accessed July 23, 2024. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/kamala-harris-presidency-mean-us-health-care-abortion-rcna163124

4. Edwards E, Harris B. Harris’s bold abortion stance may impact 2024 election after Biden’s exit. NBCNews.com. July 22, 2024. Accessed July 23, 2024. https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/harris-bold-abortion-stance-impact-2024-election-biden-exit-rcna163016

5. Nehamas N. In Florida, Harris looks to make trump the face of the state’s abortion ban. The New York Times. May 1, 2024. Accessed July 23, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/01/us/politics/florida-abortion-harris-trump.html

6. Beaumont T, Fernando C. Republicans change platform to reflect Trump’s position opposing federal abortion ban. PBS. July 9, 2024. Accessed July 23, 2024. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/republicans-change-platform-to-reflect-trumps-position-opposing-federal-abortion-ban

7. Antrim A. Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Limit Mifepristone Access for Abortion. Pharmacy Times. June 13, 2024. Accessed July 25, 2024. https://www.pharmacytimes.com/view/supreme-court-rejects-challenge-to-limit-mifepristone-access-for-abortion

8. Megerian C. Biden and Harris argue that Democrats will preserve health care and Republicans would take it away. AP News. March 27, 2024. Accessed July 23, 2024. https://apnews.com/article/biden-harris-health-care-north-carolina-282cabddd8b5bcfaccce86b9c499a2da

9. Smock N. Affordable Care Act Regards Pharmacists as Health Care Providers, Not Just Prescription Dispensers. Pharmacy Times. January 14, 2013. Accessed July 25, 2024. https://www.pharmacytimes.com/view/affordable-care-act-regards-pharmacists-as-health-care-providers-not-just-prescription-dispensers

10. Owermohle S, Cohrs Zhang R. Kamala Harris, endorsed by Biden to replace him, is left of the president on Health Care. STAT. July 23, 2024. Accessed July 23, 2024. https://www.statnews.com/2024/07/21/kamala-harris-on-healthcare-abortion-rights-medicare-for-all-drug-price-caps/