October, 20 2021, 02:49pm EDT
![Public Citizen](https://assets.rbl.ms/32012683/origin.png)
For Immediate Release
Contact:
David Rosen, drosen@citizen.org
Derrick Robinson, drobinson@citizen.org
Advocates Share Health Care Stories, 25 Arizona Organizations Deliver Letter to Sen. Sinema, Urging Medicare Expansion in Build Back Better Package
WASHINGTON
Health providers, patients, and activists today shared health care stories and delivered a letter signed by Public Citizen and 25 Arizona organizations to U.S. Sen. Krysten Sinema (D-Ariz.) urging her to support robust Medicare drug price negotiation and benefits expansion in the Democrats' budget reconciliation bill.
"A broad coalition of Arizona organizations calling on Sen. Sinema to be a champion of these reforms mirrors the national movement in favor of these common sense and popular reforms," said Melinda St. Louis, director of Public Citizen's Medicare for All campaign. "Sen. Sinema must stop obstructing President Biden and his Build Back Better plan, in order to provide Americans access to medicines and life-saving health care coverage and fulfill Democrats' campaign promises."
Public Policy Polling recently found that 73% of Arizona voters say they support giving Medicare the power to lower prescription drug prices for all Americans. Additionally, 79% support using savings from lower drug prices to provide health care benefits for hearing, dental, and vision to seniors on Medicare, and lower insurance premiums. Lowering Medicare to age 60 would provide quality insurance to 439,000 Arizonans between 60 and 65 and 20 million other Americans.
The letters delivered follow a letter from 100+ national groups that called on congressional leadership to include Medicare drug price negotiation and expansion in the package, as well as organizational letters to other U.S. senators urging their support of these policies. Sinema, who has received more than $750,000 in donations from Big Pharma and medical firms throughout her career, remains a key holdout on drug price negotiation.
The U.S. spends far more than any other country for pharmaceuticals, and the largest purchaser in the world is the Medicare Part D program. Granting Medicare the authority to negotiate drug prices and push back against Big Pharma company profiteering would mean an end to decades of overpaying for medicines and yield hundreds of billions in cost-savings that could be used to improve and expand health care coverage. It is estimated we could save upward of $450 billion over 10 years; this money could address other needs of Medicare enrollees. In short, bold drug pricing reform would support a healthier America.
"The American people have been getting ripped off by drug companies for decades," said Will Humble, executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association and former director for the Arizona Department of Health Services. "In a way, it's our own fault because our elected representatives in Congress continue to prohibit Medicare from negotiating with the drug companies. A simple market-based solution is finally at our doorstep. All we need is for Sen. Sinema to open the door and do the right thing, let Medicare finally negotiate. Now."
"Sen. Sinema seems to have forgotten since her days as an NLG member that all legitimate law comes from the people, not pharmaceutical companies," said Dianne Post, attorney with the Central Arizona National Lawyers Guild.
"The Medicare Expansion would improve the overall health of seniors, avoid thousands of medical bankruptcies and prevent countless avoidable deaths," said Ken Kenegos, RN, chair of the AZ Medicare for All Coalition. "The pandemic has devastated millions of American families while the large corporations have had a 70% increase in their profits and Senator Sinema choses to protect their interests, not those of the American people."
"In 2018 Sen. Sinema promised lower drug prices if elected. Now she is adamantly against allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices. What changed? I'd suggest the hundreds of thousands of dollars of big-pharma money she is receiving," said Mik Jordahl, vice chair of the Arizona Democratic Party Progresssive Council.
"Drug price negotiation is critical to so many Arizonans," said Patti Serrano, chair of PDA Arizona - Phoenix/East Valley. "It means providing some breathing room for those rationing and postponing needed medication and care due to our current unaffordable costs. It means the dignity of parents like mine; their ability to clearly see their grandchildren behind covered prescription eyeglasses and an ability to enjoy a full meal with covered dental care. It would be immoral to turn a thumbs down on millions by not supporting an expansion and improvements on Medicare. These are the real needs and demands of so many Arizonans who elected our Senior Senator to deliver on promises, support the President's agenda and improve the lives of Arizonans in a meaningful way."
Read the full letter here.
Public Citizen is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization that champions the public interest in the halls of power. We defend democracy, resist corporate power and work to ensure that government works for the people - not for big corporations. Founded in 1971, we now have 500,000 members and supporters throughout the country.
(202) 588-1000LATEST NEWS
BREAKING: Biden to 'Stand Down'; Endorses Kamala Harris
' I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year'
Jul 21, 2024
Breaking News...more to come
UPDATE : In response to President Biden’s announcement that he is no longer seeking reelection, MoveOn Political Action Executive Director Rahna Epting released the following statement:
“President Joe Biden‘s legacy is defined by defeating Donald Trump, restoring our nation’s commitment to our democracy, and delivering one of the most impressive domestic policy agendas in modern history. Just like he did in 2020, President Biden is making a tremendous personal sacrifice to preserve our democracy, putting the interest of the American people first, and he has the gratitude of our nation and our millions of members.
“Vice President Harris is tested and respected, and her voice is critically important at this moment. MoveOn and our members have her back and believe that those who share our commitment to winning this election and protecting our futures will do everything in their power to lift her up and stop Trump in his tracks.
MoveOn is more driven than ever to unifying the anti-Trump coalition and defeating Donald Trump and extremist MAGA Republicans once again in 2024. We are all in on electing Kamala Harris and Democrats to the U.S. House and Senate and we look forward to engaging our members and surge voters across the country to rise up and make their voices heard this fall.”
President Joe Biden has made the decision to not run for president. Read his just released statement below.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Israeli Military Strikes Claim Lives of 64 Individuals in a Single Day
'When is enough? When will the war ever end?'
Jul 21, 2024
The local Health Ministry says at least 64 people were killed and 105 injured in Israeli attacks across Gaza in the past 24 hours. Many victims are still under the rubble and on roads, with civil defense crews not able to reach them, it adds.
The Israeli military has launched numerous deadly strikes focused on the Al-Nuseirat refugee camp, including the targeting of multiple UN-run schools housing displaced people.
Nuseirat residents described living in constant fear of being bombed and a deteriorating humanitarian situation.
“The situation is scary,” said Rahma Abu Hajjaj, a 39-year-old mother of five from Nuserirat. “There are no warnings, there are no alarms when homes are bombed, we are hiding all the time and we do not know why they are targeting these homes.”
"We hear the sounds of explosions in Nuseirat and we see the smoke rising from here in Deir Al-Balah, the last refuge you can say and we are being terrorized by the feeling tanks may roll here," Tamer Aburakan, a resident of Gaza City, told
Reuters.
"Where should we go next? The entire Gaza Strip is under fire, and we are being hunted like deer in a forest. When is enough? When will the war ever end?" he said via a chat app.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to travel to the US on Monday. Netanyahu is expected to meet with US President Joe Biden on Tuesday afternoon. The next day, he is due to address a joint session of US Congress.
Thousands of people are expected to protest against the visit of Netanyahu for whom the top prosecutor of the International Criminal Court is seeking an arrest warrant for war crimes.
At least 38,983 Palestinians have been killed and 89,727 others injured in Israel's military offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, Gaza's health ministry said on Sunday, including the 64 people killed in the last 24 hours.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Israel Bombs Yemen Saturday in Escalation with Houthis
The attack came a day after the Houthis claimed responsibility for a drone attack on Tel Aviv
Jul 20, 2024
Houthi-run media say Israeli air strikes Saturday targeted oil storage facilities in the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah and that there are an unspecified number of fatalities and injuries.
The attack came a day after the Houthis claimed responsibility for a drone attack on Tel Aviv that killed one person and struck just yards from a U.S. Embassy branch office.
Israel’s air strikes will not stop the Houthi's military operations in support of the Palestinian people, Houthi political bureau member Mohammed al-Bukhaiti said in a post on X, warning they will instead increase until the war in Gaza ends. “The Zionist entity will pay the price for targeting civilian facilities, and we will meet escalation with escalation,” al-Bukhaiti wrote.
Military and political analyst Elijah Magnier told Al Jazeera, “Is this going to change the course of action of a non-state actor that is motivated to support the people of Gaza? Certainly not,” Magnier said. “They’ve been given a perfect reason to increase the attacks. We have not seen the end of it – far from it,” he said.
In another post on X, the Houthis’ spokesman, Mohammed Abdulsalam, called the Israeli air strikes “a brutal Israeli aggression against Yemen that aims to deepen people’s suffering and to pressure Yemen to stop supporting Gaza.” Abdulsalam called the attack an Israeli “dream that will not come true. We affirm that this brutal aggression will only increase the determination of the Yemeni people and their valiant armed forces to be steadfast and to continue their support for Gaza. The Yemeni people are able to face all challenges for the sake of victory for oppressed Palestine and the people of Gaza, whose cause is the most just on earth.”
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular