More than 65 million people rely on Medicare for health insurance in the United States, and as Boomers continue to enroll, the agency is expanding its coverage while trying to contain rising costs. The person who heads this effort is Dr. Meena Seshamani, director of the Center for Medicare. In a special live episode taped at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Andy talks with Dr. Seshamani about the changing scope of the agency, how it increased coverage under the Biden administration, and what will happen as expensive new drugs like Ozempic face ever growing demand. Plus, Andy gets an inside look as the agency prepares for the implementation of the new Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program.

Keep up with Andy on Post and Twitter and Post @ASlavitt.

Follow @drmeenasesh on Twitter.

Joining Lemonada Premium is a great way to support our show and get bonus content. Subscribe today at bit.ly/lemonadapremium.

Support the show by checking out our sponsors!

Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this show and all Lemonada shows: https://lemonadamedia.com/sponsors/

Check out these resources from today’s episode:

After you’ve listened to the podcast, watch the video of the Aspen event.
Find vaccines, masks, testing, treatments, and other resources in your community: https://www.covid.gov/
Order Andy’s book, “Preventable: The Inside Story of How Leadership Failures, Politics, and Selfishness Doomed the U.S. Coronavirus Response”: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250770165

Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

For additional resources, information, and a transcript of the episode, visit lemonadamedia.com/show/inthebubble.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Good News About Drug Costs (Live from the Aspen Ideas Festival)