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
