MADISON, WI — This afternoon, Protect Our Care’s Care Force One arrived in Madison to highlight how the Inflation Reduction Act’s measures will lower premiums and prescription drug costs for millions of Americans. The groundbreaking legislation works to reduce racial inequities in health care, improve care for seniors, strengthen families, and save lives. During today’s event, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin and U.S. Representative Mark Pocan explained how the bill lowers premiums and reduces prescription drug prices and how Wisconsinites can access these savings. 

“The Inflation Reduction Act is the most significant health care legislation since the Affordable Care Act,” said Senator Baldwin. “With this legislation, we finally stood up to the big pharmaceutical companies to cap the cost of insulin, allowed Medicare the power to negotiate drug costs and capped senior’s out of pocket drug costs.”

“This year Democrats got a lot done,” said Congressman Mark Pocan, who credited the American Rescue Plan with getting “COVID shots into arms,” and celebrated the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for creating quality jobs for Wisconsinites. Congressman Pocan went on to champion the historic health care measures included in the Inflation Reduction Act, drawing a sharp contrast between the efforts of Democratic lawmakers, and those of Republicans. “That’s the contrast – Democrats got it done. We expanded health care and lowered the cost of health care.”

“The Inflation Reduction Act is historic. With this bill, lawmakers have finally delivered on their promises. They are standing up to Big Pharma and other special interests to put real people first. The bill ends a 20-year ban on Medicare negotiation, which has only kept prices high for patients while lining the pockets of drug company executives and shareholders. It also caps out-of-pocket costs for seniors at $2,000 a year, limits insulin costs to $35 a month, and stops many of Big Pharma’s egregious price hikes. As soon as next year, millions of Americans will save big on their health care costs,” said Anne Shoup of Protect Our Care. 

Madison area resident Clark Johnson, who at 92 years old has been on Medicare for 27 years, heralded the importance of the program and warned against the dangers of putting Medicare on the chopping block every year.

“The Affordable Care Act saved my life,” said Laura Packard. “Five years ago I walked into the doctor’s office with a nagging cough and walked out with a stage four cancer diagnosis — but I was lucky. I had good insurance through the ACA that paid for the chemotherapy and radiation that I needed. Now, the Inflation Reduction Act has made health insurance more affordable for millions of Americans like me. Through this landmark legislation, President Biden and Democrats in Congress capped premiums at 8.5 percent of our income and lowered prescription drug costs, paving the way for more affordable health care for years to come.” 

Tomorrow, the “Lower Costs, Better Care” tour will continue in Ohio. For more information, please visit protectourcare.org/bus-tour/.

You can watch the event here.

Protect Our Care’s Care Force One will make stops in: 

Bangor, Maine on Monday, October 3, 2022

Dover/Manchester, New Hampshire on Monday, October 3, 2022

Concord, New Hampshire on Tuesday, October 4, 2022

Hartford, Connecticut on Tuesday, October 4, 2022

Allentown, Pennsylvania on Wednesday, October 5, 2022

Scranton, Pennsylvania on Wednesday, October 5, 2022

Burlington County, New Jersey on Thursday, October 6, 2022

New Brunswick, New Jersey on Thursday, October 6, 2022

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Friday, October 7, 2022

Morgantown, West Virginia on Friday, October 7, 2022

Cleveland, Ohio on Monday, October 10, 2022

Flint, Michigan on Tuesday, October 11, 2022

Lansing, Michigan on Tuesday, October 11, 2022

Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Wednesday, October 12, 2022

Green Bay, Wisconsin on Wednesday, October 12, 2022

Eau Claire, Wisconsin on Thursday, October 13, 2022

St. Paul, Minnesota on Thursday, October 13, 2022

Des Moines, Iowa on Friday, October 14, 2022

Kansas City, Missouri on Friday, October 14, 2022

Reno, Nevada on Monday, October 17, 2022

Las Vegas, Nevada on Tuesday, October 18, 2022

Flagstaff, Arizona on Tuesday, October 18, 2022

Phoenix, Arizona on Wednesday, October 19, 2022

Tucson, Arizona on Wednesday, October 19, 2022

Albuquerque, New Mexico on Thursday, October 20, 2022

Pueblo / Colorado Springs, Colorado on Thursday, October 20, 2022

Denver, Colorado on Friday, October 21, 2022

Richmond, Virginia on Monday, October 24, 2022

Raleigh, North Carolina on Monday, October 24, 2022

Charlotte, North Carolina on Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Augusta, Georgia on Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Atlanta, Georgia on Wednesday, October 26, 2022

Savannah, Georgia on Wednesday, October 26, 2022

Orlando, Florida on Thursday, October 27, 2022

Tampa, Florida on Thursday, October 27, 2022

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on Friday, October 28, 2022

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