Democrats’ Budget Resolution Stands Up to Big Pharma, Lowers Health Costs and Expands Care
Washington, DC — Today, Senate Democrats have taken bold action to ensure Americans have access to the health care they need during the coronavirus pandemic and for years to come. By passing this groundbreaking budget resolution that is being hailed as the “most significant expansion of the nation’s social safety net since Medicare and the Great Society,” President Biden and Democrats in Congress are delivering on their promises by seeking to expand Medicare to include dental, vision, and hearing, extending subsidies for those purchasing their health coverage on the Marketplace, closing the Medicaid coverage gap, and lowering prescription drug prices. Americans have demonstrated the importance of health care reform, ranking the issue as their top priority year after year, and today Democrats have responded with the action necessary to meet this moment. In response, Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach issued the following statement:
“The pandemic has laid bare the high costs and alarming inequities in our health care system. Democrats met the moment today by taking a critical step forward to ensure that health care is a right, not a privilege. The health care provisions in this budget resolution are a historic leap forward for lowering health care costs and improving care for millions of Americans. By holding Big Pharma accountable and allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices on behalf of all Americans, we’re able to save billions of dollars that can be invested in expanding hearing, dental, and vision coverage to seniors, reducing health care premiums for millions of people, and covering more Americans who are currently left behind. Every Republican Senator put politics over people’s health by voting no and ignoring the wishes of the vast majority of voters. It’s imperative that Congress enacts these provisions this fall to give Americans much-needed relief — it’s not only smart policy but it’s the right thing to do.”