Protect Our Care Hosts Week of Action to Advocate for Lower Costs & Better Care as Congress Closes in on Budget Agreement
Press Events, Radio Ads, Flyers, Mobile Billboards, and Chalking Demonstrate to Members of Congress the Urgent Need to Act to Lower Drug & Health Care Costs
Protect Our Care held a week of events and activities calling on Congress to deliver lower costs and better care to American families by passing all of President Biden’s health care priorities in the Build Back Better budget package. Democrats are working tirelessly to give Medicare the power to negotiate for lower drug prices, close the Medicaid coverage gap, expand Medicare benefits to include vision, dental and hearing, and reduce health care costs for millions of people purchasing coverage on their own.
This week’s events made clear that all of these reforms are essential as Americans are struggling to afford the high cost of health care. And with Republicans bought and paid for by Big Pharma and other special interests, we need every Democrat to keep up the fight. Protect Our Care will continue to ensure that lawmakers understand the importance of lowering drug prices and hold those that vote against this overwhelmingly popular proposal accountable.
NATIONAL
Hart Research’s Geoff Garin and the Center for American Progress Action Fund CEO Patrick Gaspard joined Protect Our Care to discuss the political situation in Washington as Congress works to pass budget reconciliation legislation and to present findings from a new national survey on voters’ attitudes towards the Build Back Better Act and health care.
As Congress continues to negotiate budget legislation, Big Pharma and other special interests are ramping up their lobbying and scare tactics to protect profits and lie to the American people. The new survey makes clear that voters’ attitudes remain unswayed by these influences, and that every single one of these health care priorities are central to the bill’s success. Read the full memo here.
Coverage:
Protect Our Care announced a radio ad campaign to call out Representatives Schrader (D-OR-05), Scott Peters (D-CA-52), and Kathleen Rice (D-NY-04) for their opposition to giving Medicare the power to negotiate with drug companies for lower prices for all Americans — a proposal supported by over 90% of all Americans and central to President Biden’s Build Back Better proposal. The ads, which are backed by five-figure buys in each district, will begin as early as today and will run through at least the end of next week.
FLYERS: Protect Our Care placed fliers across the nation’s capital to support Senator Reverend Warnock’s call for closing the Medicaid coverage gap. This week, Sen. Rev. Warnock held a press conference with a bicameral group of legislators on the Medicaid gap fix.
Coverage:
- Atlanta Journal Constitution: Democrats in Congress Push Aggressive Health Care Agenda, but Costs Spur Concern
ARIZONA
State Representative Cesar Chavez, Will Humble of the Arizona Public Health Association, and Iesha Meza, an Arizonan with Type I diabetes joined Protect Our Care Arizona for an event to urge Senator Kyrsten Sinema to do the right thing, and support Democrats’ legislation to lower prescription drug costs.
The event came after Protect Our Care joined local residents on Tuesday to urge Senator Sinema to do the right thing and support legislation to bring down drug prices with a mobile billboard and chalk art outside of her Phoenix office. The mobile billboard circled Phoenix all day calling for Senator Sinema to put patients over profits and give Medicare the power to negotiate for lower drug prices for all Americans.
Constituents sent a clear message to Senator Sinema outside of her Phoenix office: lower drug prices now!
ALASKA
SEIU, Dr. Al Gross, and a local provider joined Protect Our Care Alaska for a virtual press conference to highlight how the efforts of President Biden and Democrats in Congress will lower costs and expand access to health care in Alaska and across the country.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
A group of New Hampshire residents joined Protect Our Care NH for an online forum to highlight how the efforts of the New Hampshire Delegation in Congress could lower costs and expand access to health care in New Hampshire if the Reconciliation. Expanding access to quality, affordable health care has never been more critical, as the state struggles with a pandemic, economic recovery, climate change and hospitals on the brink.
WISCONSIN
Senator Tammy Baldwin and patient advocates from across the state joined Protect Our Care Wisconsin for an event to urge Congress to take action to lower health care costs and expand access to care. “When I first ran for the Senate in 2012, I heard from hundreds of Wisconsinites who couldn’t afford their prescription drugs. Every Congress, Senator Klobuchar and I have introduced the Empowering Medicare Seniors to Negotiate Drug Prices Act, which would allow Medicare to negotiate the best price of prescription drugs,” said Senator Baldwin. “For every other type of health care service, Medicare works to get lower prices for American seniors. But for prescription drugs – and only prescription drugs – Medicare is today prohibited by law from negotiating for the best deal for our seniors. We’re going to get rid of that limitation and give Medicare the power to lower prescription drug prices.”
Coverage:
- WBAY (ABC): Baldwin to Address Health Care Provisions (preview clip)
- WLUK (Fox): Senator Baldwin Meets with Health Care Advocates
- WFRV (CBS): Finding Ways to Fix Health Care