Tag: health care

Minnesota House DFLers Reflect on the Second Anniversary of Alec Smith’s Passing, and the Work of the #insulin4all Movement

House DFL logoSAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, House DFLers and #insulin4all advocates reflect on the second anniversary of the passing of Alec Smith. Alec Smith passed away at the age of 26 on June 27, 2017, when he was forced to ration his insulin that he could no longer afford. Alec’s parents, Nicole Smith-Holt and James Holt, have since been steadfast advocates in sharing Alec’s story and working towards a future of affordable insulin.

“I’m so grateful to Nicole and James for sharing Alec’s story over the past two years to help other people,” said Speaker Melissa Hortman. “It’s an incredible gift that they have shared Alec’s life with the rest of us, with the hope that other families can avoid the heartache they have suffered.  I’m so sorry that they’ve spent the past two years without their son.”

Alec’s story has sparked a dialogue in Minnesota and across the country, putting a spotlight on the skyrocketing cost of insulin, which has tripled in the last 10 years. Studies indicate that one in four diabetics have resorted to rationing their insulin due to lack of access to this life-saving medication.

 

“Thanks to the tireless advocacy of families like Alec’s, we’re making progress in lowering health care costs and increasing accessibility,” said Majority Leader Ryan Winkler. “By sharing their stories, they’ve helped center health care policy on people, not profits.”

 

In partnership with advocates and Alec’s family, the DFL House crafted the Alec Smith Emergency Insulin Act. The bill would establish a means for Minnesotans who are unable to afford their needed insulin to get their prescription filled on a temporary basis. Pharmacies would be authorized to fill a temporary supply of insulin for patients whose prescription is out-of-date, and would in turn be reimbursed through a fee on Big Pharma insulin manufacturers.

 

“Today, I am reflecting on Alec’s life and the strength and determination of his loving family who courageously fight every day to address the immoral cost of insulin,” said Rep. Michael Howard (DFL – Richfield), author of the Alec Smith Emergency Insulin Act. “May their courage continue to change hearts and minds, driving the changes we must make to ensure no Minnesotan loses their life because they can’t afford the insulin they need to survive.”

Physician lawmakers Sen. Scott Jensen and Rep. Kelly Morrison talk health care

Having physicians crafting health care legislation is unusual and closely watched.

Four physicians served in this session of the Minnesota Legislature, including two area legislators. Sen. Scott Jensen (R-Chaska) represents Senate District 47 and is a family doctor. Rep. Kelly Morrison (D-Deephaven) represents House District 33B and is an obstetrician.

The other physician legislators are Sen. Matt Kline, a Democrat representing Senate District 52, and House District 56B Democratic Rep. Alice Mann.

View the complete June 19 article by Lara Bockenstedt on The Chaska Herald website here.

Poll: Voters Distrust Trump And Republicans On Health Care

Trump has been ramping up his efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act — and it could be disastrous for both Trump and his Republican Party, according to a Politico/Morning Consult poll released yesterday.

The vast majority of voters, 59 percent, don’t trust Trump on the issue of health care, despite his fantastical claims that he’ll come up with some mythical plan that’s better than the ACA.

Forty-five percent of voters say they trust congressional Democrats to handle health care, while just 35 percent of voters say they trust Republicans on the issue. And 40 percent of voters say they trust congressional Democrats “to protect people with pre-existing conditions from being denied coverage or charged more by health insurance companies,” while just 19 percent of voters trust Republicans to do the same.

View the complete April 4 article by Emily Singer on the National Memo website here.

Rep. Phillips Votes in Support of Resolution Condemning the Trump Administration’s Assault on Health Care

WASHINGTON, DC – Yesterday, Rep. Dean Phillips (MN-03) voted in support of a House Resolution condemning the Trump Administration’s legal campaign to dismantle the Affordable Care Act.

Last week, President Trump asked a federal court to strike down the entirety of the ACA.

“This move by the Trump Administration is outrageous and unacceptable,” said Phillips. “Everywhere I go in Minnesota I meet families who do everything the right way, only to see their savings wiped out by the cost of an unexpected health condition. We should be working together across the aisle to strengthen the Affordable Care Act, fix the aspects that need fixing, bring down costs and lower the price of prescription drugs. Instead, we have a White House that wants to take health care away from 20 million Americans.” Continue reading “Rep. Phillips Votes in Support of Resolution Condemning the Trump Administration’s Assault on Health Care”

DFL Chair Ken Martin on Senator Michelle Benson’s Insulin Recommendations

“Another day, another callous and clueless health care remark from a Minnesota Republican. It’s frightening to me that someone like Senator Benson, the Chair of the Senate Health and Human Services and Policy committee, would recommend “coupons” and “emergency rooms” for Minnesotans being price-gouged by Big Pharma on something as consequential as life and death medications like as insulin.

“This kind of heartless approach to vital health care needs demonstrates once again that Republicans prioritizes profits over people. Across America, millions of people are trying to figure out where their next dose of lifesaving insulin is coming from, and Republicans like Michelle Benson are recommending costly and time-consuming Emergency Room visits instead holding price-gouging pharmaceutical companies responsible. This is unacceptable.

“House DFLers just released a package of bills that will lower the cost of vital prescription drugs like insulin. Senator Benson, when you’re ready to take this issue seriously, I’m sure they’d welcome your support.”

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White House Obamacare reversal made over Cabinet objections

The Trump administration’s surprising move to invalidate Obamacare on Monday came despite the opposition of two key Cabinet secretaries: Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Attorney General William Barr.

Driving the dramatic action were the administration’s domestic policy chief, Joe Grogan, and the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russ Vought, according to three sources with direct knowledge of the decision. Both are close allies of White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, who helped to engineer the move.

But Monday’s terse, two-sentence letter from the Department of Justice to a federal appeals court reversing the administration’s previous partial opposition to a lawsuit challenging the 2010 health care law, took many Republicans aback — in part because they see it as bringing high political risk for a party that has failed to unite behind an Obamacare alternative and which lost House seats in the 2018 midterms when Democrats made health care a focus of their attacks.

View the complete March 26 article by Eliana Johnson and Burgess Everett on the Politico website here.

THE REAL STATE OF THE UNION: Mother Of A Child With A Pre-Existing Condition: ‘I’m Worried About Our Whole Family’

Take a break from Trump and hear from regular Americans about the real state of our Union. Watch the mother of a child with a pre-existing condition talk about the struggle to pay for her family’s health care as her son recovers from a brain tumor.

“Well, I’m worried about our whole family, honestly. … Medical bankruptcies are a reality and they were a much bigger reality before the Affordable Care Act.” – California resident

WATCH HERE

GOP lawmakers distance themselves from ObamaCare ruling

Republicans are keeping their distance from a recent court ruling that struck down ObamaCare, as GOP lawmakers are wary of the political backlash that could ensue from scrapping the law.

Many congressional Republicans remain silent after a federal judge on Friday struck down the Affordable Care Act in its entirety. And those who have spoken out largely steered clear of embracing the decision.

The muted response illustrates how the politics of the 2010 health law have shifted, with Democrats successfully hammering Republicans during the 2018 midterms over GOP efforts to weaken the law’s pre-existing condition protections.

View the complete December 17 article by Peter Sullivan on The Hill website here.

Republicans Are Full of It About Their Health Care Agenda

The White House and the Republican National Committee are blatantly lying to voters about health care. The truth is that Republicans continue their health care sabotage and have tried to gut protections for people with pre-existing conditions — and they’re suing right now to allow insurers to deny those people coverage.  Read more Republicans who are full of it:

RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel repeatedly denied that Republicans want to take away protections for people with pre-existing conditions.

McDaniel: “Now, they are using health care as a fear tactic, and they’re going across these states and saying Republicans are going to take away pre-existing conditions. It is just false. The president has said that is not true, and we’re combating that, that lie of Democrats.”

McDaniel: “Well, the Democrats have really tried to fearmonger on health care and tried to tell people that Republicans are going to take pre-existing conditions. It is flat-out false. The president has been on the stump refuting that. We have candidates sharing stories of their family members, of their kids, of their mothers who have pre-existing conditions. Of course we would never take away that right.”

New York Times: “It is Democrats, by passing the Affordable Care Act in 2010, who introduced meaningful protections for Americans with prior illnesses. And Republican officeholders have taken numerous actions that would tend to weaken those protections — in Congress, in states and in courts. The Trump administration introduced a sweeping new policy just last week that would allow states to sidestep Obamacare’s requirement to cover pre-existing conditions.”

Continue reading “Republicans Are Full of It About Their Health Care Agenda”

Republicans Double Down on Lies About Their Disastrous Health Care Plan

‘If we can’t trust Paulsen, Lewis, and their Republican accomplices to tell us the truth about what they’re voting on, how can we possibly trust them to put us first?’

Jason Lewis and Erik Paulsen like to claim that their votes for the American Health Care Act didn’t gut protections for pre-existing conditions. Unfortunately for the embattled Republicans, the facts tell a different story. As Lewis and Paulsen double down on their disastrous plan, Republicans like Jim Hagedorn and Pete Stauber are joining them in enthusiastically endorsing the bill their party forced through the House last year.

Responding to Republicans’ health care lies, the DFL released the following statement:

“Erik Paulsen, Jason Lewis, and their Congressional Republican allies have completely undermined our health care system by voting to raise costs and strip care from millions of Americans. Instead of owning up to their heartless health care plan, Republicans have resorted to lying to their constituents about the most basic facts.” Continue reading “Republicans Double Down on Lies About Their Disastrous Health Care Plan”