Press Call

***MEDIA ADVISORY FOR WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 13 AT 4:15 PM ET***

Washington, DC — On Wednesday, December 13, 2023, at 4:15 PM ET, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Chair (CAPAC) Judy Chu (CA-28) and CAPAC Healthcare Task Force Co-Chair Barbara Lee (CA-12) will join Protect Our Care and the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum to discuss how the Inflation Reduction Act is benefiting Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPIs) communities across the nation. By lowering health care premiums and prescription drug prices, the Inflation Reduction Act is making care more affordable for AA and NHPIs, and addressing longstanding disparities in access to care and health outcomes. 

Efforts to make health care more affordable and accessible are particularly important for AA and NHPIs, who have historically faced greater barriers to achieving and maintaining optimal health. The 25.2 million Asian Americans and 1.5 million Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders living in the U.S. have long been more likely to suffer from chronic health conditions like kidney failure, heart disease, and hypertension, and Asian American seniors are more likely than their white counterparts to report difficulty affording prescription medications. During the call, speakers will discuss how the Inflation Reduction Act is working to benefit AA and NHPIs, and other actions President Biden is taking to ensure everyone has the health care they need to thrive. 

PRESS CALL:

WHO:
U.S. Representative Judy Chu (CA-28), Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Chair
U.S. Representative Barbara Lee (CA-12), Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Healthcare Task Force Co-Chair
Juliet K. Choi, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum
Leslie Dach, Chair of Protect Our Care

WHAT: Virtual Press Conference 

WHERE: Register for the Event Here

WHEN: Wednesday, December 13, 2023, at 4:15 PM ET

***MEDIA ADVISORY FOR WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 06 AT 11 AM PT // 2 PM ET***

Open Enrollment for 2024 Medicare Plans Ends December 7th and Brings New Savings for Seniors

Los Angeles, CA – Today, December 06, 2023, at 11 AM PT // 2 PM ET, Attorney General Rob Bonta and Long Beach Commission on Aging Chair Naida Tushnet will join Protect Our Care California to discuss Medicare open enrollment and to educate seniors about new benefits thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, legislation signed into law last year by President Biden. As seniors enroll in their 2024 Medicare plans, during the open enrollment period that ends December 7th, they could save thousands of dollars on their prescription drug costs, with even more savings down the road. New benefits for Medicare beneficiaries include Medicare negotiation for lower drug prices, a $35 monthly copay cap on insulin, free shingles and other essential vaccinations, and $2,000 out-of-pocket caps on prescription drugs beginning in 2025.

Right now, the Biden administration is in the process of lowering prices for the first round of high-cost prescription drugs under the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program, and those prices will take effect in 2026. The first ten drugs selected for negotiation are taken by nearly 9 million people on Medicare, who spent $3.4 billion in out-of-pocket costs last year alone. This new program will lower prices for some of the highest-priced prescription drugs on the market used to treat conditions like diabetes, heart failure, blood clots, and autoimmune disorders.

PRESS CALL:

WHO:
Attorney General Rob Bonta
Naida Tushnet, Chair, Long Beach Commission on Aging

WHAT: Virtual Press Conference

WHEN: Wednesday, December 06, 2023, at 11 AM PT // 2 PM ET

WHERE: Register for the Zoom here

***MEDIA ADVISORY FOR TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28 AT 4:00 PM ET***

Washington, DC — On Tuesday, November 28, 2023, at 4:00 PM ET, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and U.S. Representative Colin Allred (TX-32) will join Protect Our Care to discuss how Donald Trump’s mission to “terminate” the Affordable Care Act (ACA) jeopardizes the health and well-being of millions of people across the nation. Over the weekend, Donald Trump renewed calls to repeal the ACA, claiming his administration’s failure to repeal the ACA was “a low point for the Republican party.” His comments echo the words of other MAGA-Republican lawmakers who are actively working to slash the ACA and Medicaid, raise prescription drug costs for seniors, and put drug and insurance companies back in charge at the expense of American families.

Repealing the ACA means ripping away protections for the over 135 million Americans with pre-existing conditions, hiking premium costs for millions of working families, and allowing insurance companies to deny basic care like hospital visits and prescription drugs. In total, 20 million Americans would lose coverage and 15 million would see higher health care costs. Read more here. 

PRESS CALL:

WHO:
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR)
U.S. Representative Colin Allred (TX-32)
Laura Packard,  storyteller
Leslie Dach, Chair of Protect Our Care

WHAT: Virtual Press Conference 

WHERE: Register for the Event Here

WHEN: Tuesday, November 28, 2023, at 4:00 PM ET

***MEDIA ADVISORY FOR WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8 AT 10:30 AM ET***

Under Speaker Johnson’s Leadership, Republicans Will Continue Their Agenda of Hiking Drug and Health Insurance Costs, and Eliminating Crucial Protections for the American People

Washington, DC — On Wednesday, November 8, 2023, at 10:30 AM ET, House Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ-06) will join Protect Our Care to discuss how the Republican party is working to rip away Americans’ access to affordable health care. From pushing health care plans that hike costs to trying to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act’s measures to lower prescription drug costs, Republicans have returned to some of their oldest schemes to put drug and insurance companies back in charge at the expense of American families. Recently, Republicans in the House of Representatives elected Rep. Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House. Johnson has a long history of fighting to raise health care costs and rip away critical protections from the American people. During the call, Protect Our Care will unveil a new report outlining Republicans’ mission to raise costs and undermine critical protections through legislation and the courts. Hart Research President Geoff Garin will also present recent polling showing how unpopular the Republican war on health care is with the American people. 

PRESS CALL:

WHO:
U.S. Representative Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ-06)
Geoff Garin, President of Hart Research
Brad Woodhouse, Executive Director of Protect Our Care

WHAT: Virtual Press Conference 

WHERE: Register for the Event Here

WHEN: Wednesday, November 8, 2023, at 10:30 AM ET

***MEDIA ADVISORY FOR MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6 AT 3:00 PM ET // 12:00 PM PT***

New Report Finds That If All States Did as Well as the 10 Best States, Millions of People Would Not Have Been Terminated from Medicaid Because of Missing Paperwork

Washington, DC – On Monday, November 6, 2023 at 3:00 PM ET // 12:00 PM PT, U.S. Representatives Steven Horsford (D-NV-04) and Jill Tokuda (D-HI-02), will join civil rights leaders and Protect Our Care for a press conference to call on state leaders to halt procedural disenrollments from Medicaid until they have reduced such terminations to the lowest achievable level. Over 70% of those disenrolled were terminated because of nothing more than missing paperwork. The groups will release a new report detailing how, only six months into the unwinding of the pandemic-era Medicaid continuous eligibility requirements, more people have lost Medicaid than during any two-year period in history, more than have of whom are from communities of color. The report will provide the country’s first documentation of several things: (1) the size of current coverage losses, compared to past losses; (2) the racial and ethnic composition of people terminated from Medicaid; and (3) the central importance of state variation in driving Medicaid terminations. 

Congress passed legislation at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to protect access to Medicaid by ensuring no one could be disenrolled during the public health emergency. This provision, which has helped secure the lowest level of uninsured Americans ever, expired on April 1. 

The report is co-authored by 10 leading civil rights and health equity organizations: the Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, NAACP, the National Council of Negro Women, the National Urban League, the National Council of Urban Indian Health, the Southern Poverty Law Center, UnidosUS, the Coalition on Human Needs, and Protect Our Care. 

PRESS CALL:

WHO:
U.S. Representative Steven Horsford (D-NV-04), Chair, Congressional Black Caucus
U.S. Representative Jill Tokuda (D-HI-02), Member, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
Juliet K. Choi, President and CEO, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum
Derrick Johnson, President and CEO, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
Shavon Arline-Bradley, President and CEO, National Council of Negro Women
Marc Morial, President and CEO, National Urban League
Eric Rodriguez, Senior Vice President for Policy and Advocacy at UnidosUS
Leslie Dach, Chair, Protect Our Care

WHAT: Virtual Press Conference 

WHERE: Register for the Event Here

WHEN: Nov 6, 2023 at 3:00 PM ET // 12:00 PM PT

***MEDIA ADVISORY FOR MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6 AT 3:00 PM ET // 12:00 PM PT***

New Report Finds That If All States Did as Well as the 10 Best States, Millions of People Would Not Have Been Terminated from Medicaid Because of Missing Paperwork

Washington, DC – On Monday, November 6, 2023 at 3:00 PM ET // 12:00 PM PT, civil rights leaders will join Protect Our Care for a press conference to call on state leaders to halt procedural disenrollments from Medicaid until they have reduced such terminations to the lowest achievable level. Over 70% of those disenrolled were terminated because of nothing more than missing paperwork. The groups will release a new report detailing how, only six months into the unwinding of the pandemic-era Medicaid continuous eligibility requirements, more people have lost Medicaid than during any two-year period in history, more than have of whom are from communities of color. The report will provide the country’s first documentation of several things: (1) the size of current coverage losses, compared to past losses; (2) the racial and ethnic composition of people terminated from Medicaid; and (3) the central importance of state variation in driving Medicaid terminations. 

Congress passed legislation at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to protect access to Medicaid by ensuring no one could be disenrolled during the public health emergency. This provision, which has helped secure the lowest level of uninsured Americans ever, expired on April 1. 

The report is co-authored by 10 leading civil rights and health equity organizations: the Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, NAACP, the National Council of Negro Women, the National Urban League, the National Council of Urban Indian Health, the Southern Poverty Law Center, UnidosUS, the Coalition on Human Needs, and Protect Our Care. 

PRESS CALL:

WHO:

Juliet K. Choi, President and CEO, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum
Derrick Johnson, President and CEO, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
Shavon Arline-Bradley, President and CEO, National Council of Negro Women
Marc Morial, President and CEO, National Urban League
Eric Rodriguez, Senior Vice President for Policy and Advocacy at UnidosUS
Leslie Dach, Chair, Protect Our Care

WHAT: Virtual Press Conference 

WHERE: Register for the Event Here

WHEN: Nov 6, 2023 at 3:00 PM ET // 12:00 PM PT

***MEDIA ADVISORY FOR TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17 AT 3:30 PM ET***

Washington, D.C. — On Tuesday, October 17, at 3:30 PM ET, U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09) will join Protect Our Care to discuss how the 2024 open enrollment period will bring new benefits to 65 million people on Medicare. Over the next several weeks, 65 million people will go to select their Medicare plans, and they will see new benefits that could save them thousands of dollars on their prescription drug costs. Signed into law by President Biden last year, the Inflation Reduction Act introduced $35 caps on monthly insulin copays, free shingles and other recommended vaccinations, protections from drug company price hikes, and $2,000 out-of-pocket caps on prescription drugs beginning in 2025. 

Critically, the law also gives Medicare the power to negotiate lower drug prices. Right now, the Biden administration is in the process of lowering prices for the first round of prescription drugs under the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program, and those prices will take effect in 2026. This new program will lower prices for some of the highest-priced prescription drugs on the market used to treat conditions like diabetes, heart failure, blood clots, and autoimmune disorders.

PRESS CALL

WHO:
U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09)
Linda Hamacher, patient storyteller (MI)
Dawn LaGuerre, patient storyteller (NY)
Leslie Dach, Chair of Protect Our Care

WHAT: Virtual Press Conference 

WHERE: Register for the Event Here

WHEN: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 at 3:30 PM

***MEDIA ADVISORY FOR MONDAY, AUGUST 28 AT 11:00 AM ET***

Speakers to Discuss Drug Companies’ Ongoing Efforts to Protect Their Profits, the Popularity of Negotiation, and Legal Threats to the Law

Washington, DC — On Monday, August 28, 2023, at 11:00 AM ET, legal expert William Schultz, Director of Brookings Schaeffer Initiative on Health Policy Dr. Richard Frank, and Hart Research’s Geoff Garin will join a press call with Protect Our Care to discuss the current state of play as the Biden administration is posed to announce the first 10 drugs selected for Medicare negotiation under the Inflation Reduction Act. During the event, speakers will discuss what this important step means for the American people, ongoing threats to the program, and how Medicare negotiation remains central to the Inflation Reduction Act’s popularity. 

This week, CMS is expected to announce the first round of drugs eligible for lower prices under the Medicare Drug Negotiation Program, which will lower prices for millions of seniors. As the Biden administration is working to implement this core provision of the Inflation Reduction Act, big drug companies are going to court to protect their profits. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), Chambers of Commerce, Merck, Bristol Myers Squibb, Astellas Pharma, and Johnson & Johnson-owned Janssen Pharmaceuticals have all filed lawsuits against the federal government challenging the constitutionality of the Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare Prescription Drug Negotiation Program. 

PRESS CALL

WHO:
William Schultz, Partner, Zuckerman Spaeder, former General Counsel, Department of Health and Human Services
Dr. Richard Frank, Director, Brookings Schaeffer Initiative on Health Policy
Geoff Garin, President of Hart Research
Leslie Dach, Chair of Protect Our Care

WHAT: Virtual Press Conference

WHERE: Register for the Event Here

WHEN: Monday, August 28, 2023 at 11:00 AM ET

***MEDIA ADVISORY FOR FRIDAY, JULY 7 @ 11:00 AM CT // 12:00 PM ET***

Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, Wisconsinites Are Saving on Health Care Costs

Milwaukee, WI – On Friday, July 7th at 11:00 AM CT, 12:00 PM ET, U.S. Representative Gwen Moore (D-WI-4) will join Protect Our Care Wisconsin to discuss the Biden-Harris administration’s next steps in implementing the Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program. The administration released the final guidance outlining the process for negotiation, and by September 1, the ten drugs that are selected for the first round of price negotiations will be announced. 

A new report from Protect Our Care highlights the five drugs that are most likely to be up for negotiation. The report also details Pharma’s efforts to derail the implementation of this critical part of the Inflation Reduction Act. Prescription drug affordability measures are particularly important for seniors of color and people with disabilities, who experience health disparities in part because they are more likely to have limited access to affordable drugs. 

This event comes as Republicans and big drug companies are attacking the Inflation Reduction Act in Congress and the courts. Pharmaceutical giants Merck and Bristol Myers Squibb, as well as the industry’s trade association PhRMA, are laser-focused on undermining the Inflation Reduction Act by filing lawsuits to protect their profits and stop the administration from negotiating lower drug prices. Big Pharma’s GOP allies in Congress have already introduced legislation to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act’s prescription drug provisions, which would increase drug costs for millions of seniors.

PRESS EVENT:

WHO: U.S. Representative Gwen Moore (D-WI-4)
Wisconsin Senior Storytellers
Protect Our Care Wisconsin

WHAT: Virtual Press Conference

WHERE: Register to join the Zoom event (Registration required)

WHEN: Friday, July 7th at 11:00 AM CT // 12:00 PM ET