Working to make healthcare a right

People from all walks of life are struggling to afford the high cost of healthcare in this country. As it stands, too many Americans are forced to make impossible choices between accessing lifesaving prescription drugs or putting food on the table or paying rent. Millions of people in places like Florida, Texas, and Georgia are locked out of affordable coverage because of state leaders’ refusal to expand Medicaid. Families across the country are struggling to afford healthcare premiums and are delaying or forgoing essential care because of cost. And our nation’s seniors and people with disabilities are still denied vision, dental, and hearing coverage.

The pandemic has only laid bare these high costs and alarming inequities in our healthcare system, and without bold action, I fear skyrocketing healthcare costs will continue to plague American families for years to come. Polling has shown that 80 percent of Delawareans are concerned about the cost of prescription drugs.

A quarter of Delawareans have forgone medications to pay for essential items and bills. In 2021, 25 percent of Delaware voters reported that they or someone in their household could not afford a prescribed medication. The same vial of insulin that was about $21 in 1998 was about $300 in 2018. That is not the cost of just doing business. It’s not the cost of research. It is not the cost of the work that is behind the medication.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

In the spring, Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester helped pass President Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act, which included the most significant expansion of healthcare in more than a decade, saving American families thousands on their healthcare costs. Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, 8,900 families are newly eligible for health coverage tax credits and 1,700 individuals have access to coverage with zero-dollar premiums.

Still, there is more work to be done. That’s why I recently joined Protect Our Care nationwide bus tour in Wilmington to demonstrate the urgent need for lowering health costs, expanding coverage, and reducing racial disparities in care. We’re here because we’re tired. You’re tired. Tired of being forced to choose between paying for your medications, or paying your bills, paying your utilities, putting food on your table.

Under the leadership of President Biden, my colleagues and I are working to give Medicare the power to negotiate for lower drug prices, close the Medicaid gap, expand Medicare benefits to include hearing, dental, and vision, and make the health provisions of the American Rescue Plan permanent so millions can continue to access low-cost health insurance.

Empowering Medicare to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices alone would save patients more than $150 billion and create $500 billion in savings for the federal government that could be reinvested in improving healthcare for Delawareans and all Americans. Delawareans overwhelmingly support allowing Medicare to negotiate better drug prices.  A 2021 poll from the West Health Institute found that 88 percent of Delaware voters support allowing Medicare to negotiate directly with drug companies for lower prices.

In the coming weeks, we have the opportunity to make every single one of these policies a reality through budget reconciliation. The American people are with us.

Voters across the political spectrum overwhelmingly support these measures and are demanding their elected officials take action. But while Democrats are fighting tirelessly to lower costs and expand coverage, Republicans have already indicated that they are standing by Big Pharma and other special interests over the American people. I am working on behalf of all Delawareans and all Americans to make healthcare a right, not a privilege. I urge my colleagues to stand with me.  It’s time to give Americans this much-needed relief - it’s not only smart policy, but it’s the right thing to do.