Protect Our Care Hosted Events in Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia
Protect Our Care continued its events and activities calling on members of Congress to meet the demands of their constituents and pass all of President Biden’s health care priorities in the Build Back Better legislation. Democrats are continuing to negotiate a final budget agreement that could 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. These proposals are overwhelmingly popular among voters of all parties and will extend access to health care for millions of Americans.
Through press calls, mobile billboards, radio ads, and other demonstrations, Protect Our Care made clear that all of the health care reforms are central to the popularity of the Build Back Better package. 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 expanding care leading up to the final passage of the Build Back Better Act.
ARIZONA
PRESS EVENT: Executive Director of the Arizona Public Health Association Will Humble joined the Arizona chapter of AARP on Morning Scoop for a press event highlighting the benefits for all consumers of allowing Medicare to negotiate the prices of prescription drugs. In Arizona, the cost of prescription drugs grew 69% faster than the average resident’s income from 2015 to 2019, forcing many to choose between medication and rent, groceries or other necessities.
WEBSITE AD TAKEOVER: Protect Our Care placed ads in the Arizona Capital Times calling for Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) to meet the demands of her constituents and support giving Medicare the power to negotiate with drug companies for lower prices. The ads were placed in advance of an event with Will Humble, who appeared in a POC radio ad last week.
RADIO AD: Protect Our Care extended its radio ad calling for Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) to meet the demands of her constituents and support giving Medicare the power to negotiate with drug companies for lower prices. The ad features Will Humble, the Executive Director for the Arizona Public Health Association, who explains that Arizonans pay three times more for drugs than people in other countries while Big Pharma continues to rake in record profits and hike prices on Americans.
CALIFORNIA
PROTEST: On Thursday, Indivisible, Protect Our Care and constituents of California’s 52nd district protested outside of Rep. Scott Peters’s office for his opposition to giving Medicare the power to negotiate for lower drug prices. These protests will take place every Tuesday and Thursday until Rep. Peters does the right thing and supports all of the health care priorities in the Build Back Better Act.
RADIO AD: Protect Our Care extended its radio ad campaign calling out Representatives Scott Peters (D-CA-52) for his 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.
DELAWARE
MOBILE BILLBOARD: On Wednesday, a mobile billboard sponsored by Protect Our Care appeared outside of the Wilmington Amtrak station urging Senator Carper to support giving Medicare the power to negotiate for lower drug prices for all Americans.
FLORIDA
PRESS CALL: On Wednesday, a group of healthcare advocates, medical professionals, and faith leaders in Central Florida held a virtual event urging Representative Stephanie Murphy (D-FL-07) to be a champion for lowering prescription drug prices and expanding Medicare and Medicaid by voting for President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda.
Coverage:
- Florida Politics: Democratic allies urge Stephanie Murphy to support budget bill for its health care provisions
NEW JERSEY
MOBILE BILLBOARD: On Tuesday, Protect Our Care’s mobile billboard appeared at an event sponsored by Our Revolution in front of U.S. Senator Bob Menendez’s (D-NJ) Jersey City office calling on the senator to stand up to Big Pharma and bring relief to New Jersey’s seniors and families who struggle to afford their medications by giving Medicare the power to negotiate.
NEW YORK
RADIO AD: Protect Our Care extended its radio ad campaign calling out Representative Kathleen Rice (D-NY-04) for her failure to support giving Medicare the power to negotiate with drug companies for lower prices for all Americans.
PENNSYLVANIA
PRESS CALL: On Wednesday, Representative Susan Wild (PA-07) joined local health care advocates for a virtual roundtable to highlight how the health provisions included in President Biden’s Build Back Better Act will lower costs and expand access to health care in Pennsylvania and across the country.
WEST VIRGINIA
RADIO AD: Protect Our Care announced a new radio ad today calling for U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) to meet the demands of his constituents and fight for giving Medicare the power to negotiate with drug companies for lower prices. The ad features Mindy Salango, a Morgantown resident who suffers from Type I diabetes, explaining that giving Medicare the power to negotiate lower prices is the solution to the broken drug pricing system.