In case you missed it, yesterday Senator Maggie Hassan visited Amoskeag Health in Manchester, where she was joined by AARP leaders to highlight how the landmark Inflation Reduction Act will bring down the cost of prescription drugs by allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices.
Earlier in the day, one of Senator Hassan’s opponents, State Senate President Chuck Morse, said that he would have opposed adding a $35 insulin cap to the legislation– turning his back on the more than 113,000 Granite Staters who live with diabetes. Despite support from seven Senate Republicans, Mitch McConnell and his allies killed this bipartisan measure and prevented it from being included in the bill that passed the Senate.
Read more here:
Manchester Ink Link: Hassan Joins Local Advocates In Touting Inflation Reduction Act’s Passage
-
“(This bill) will help bring down the cost of prescription drugs for not just Medicare patients, but consumers across the board by putting pressure on Big Pharma to lower their prices,” said Hassan. Hassan added that the bill would help Americans cope with the impact of inflation by lowering the cost of prescription drugs, reducing the deficit through various tax reforms and lowering energy prices.
-
Hassan expressed frustration with one of the key provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act that was not included in the final bill, a price cap on insulin. The provision was not included due to a decision by the Senate Parliamentarian that it could not be included within the rules for reconciliation, which allowed the bill to pass without the need to invoke cloture of a filibuster, which requires at least 60 senators.
-
She added that she would continue to try and find ways to put a price cap on insulin, stating that there have been no new developments in insulin research in decades that would require unlimited profits on the drug, which is a medical necessity for thousands of Americans with diabetes.
-
Later in the day, Hassan responded to comments from U.S. Senate Candidate and N.H. Senate President Chuck Morse (R-Salem) regarding insulin costs on WKBK with Dan Mitchell earlier in the morning. “By opposing a price cap on lifesaving insulin, Chuck Morse has made it crystal clear that he would side with Mitch McConnell and Big Pharma over Granite Staters,” said Hassan. “The people of New Hampshire deserve a Senator who will fight for them — not a rubber stamp for Big Pharma.”
Roll Call: Climate, Health And Tax Debate Moves Quickly To Campaign Realm
-
Democrats also focused on the legislation’s potential to reduce the cost of prescription drugs — while hammering Republicans for using budget reconciliation rules to remove language that would have capped copayments for insulin for people with private insurance.
-
Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., appeared Tuesday at an event with AARP New Hampshire to tout the prescription drug provisions as her campaign was criticizing a likely challenger over his opposition to the insulin pricing proposal. “Affording life-saving medications has been getting harder and harder for some families … while Big Pharma is raking in record profits,” Hassan said.
The New York Times: With Deal In Hand, Democrats Enter The Fall Armed With Something New: Hope
-
Vulnerable incumbent Democratic senators like Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire are holding events promoting the landmark legislation they passed over the weekend. Democratic ad makers are busily preparing a barrage of commercials about it across key battlegrounds. And the White House is set to deploy Cabinet members on a nationwide sales pitch.
-
For Democrats, the best salespeople may not be the political leaders at all. Advocacy groups for seniors, for instance, might be able to more persuasively trumpet the government’s ability to negotiate reduced drug prices — and the AARP New Hampshire state director joined Ms. Hassan at an event on Tuesday discussing the new efforts to lower prescription drug prices.