Neighbor,
Lots of healthcare and budget news from the Capitol today. Last week the House DFL introduced a comprehensive plan to make prescription drugs more affordable by holding pharmaceutical companies accountable and putting more power in the hands of Minnesotans who are struggling with the skyrocketing cost of life-saving medications.
As a physician, chief sponsor of one of the bills in the plan, and someone who has seen firsthand the challenges patients face when their care is out of reach, I know this plan is a necessary step toward transparency and accountability in the pharmaceutical industry. As legislators it's our job to craft health care policy that helps people and protects them from profit-driven health care companies. Large corporations simply should not benefit at the expense of people facing illnesses in this state.
The plan is one of the strongest efforts to address the rising cost of prescription drugs among state legislatures in the country. It increases transparency for drug manufacturers, improves public scrutiny of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), leverages the State of Minnesota’s purchasing power to cut health care costs, and puts more power back in the hands patients and their doctors – not insurers or PBMs – to decide what medication is best suited to treat an illness.
Click here to watch the news conference and learn more.
As a healthcare provider I pay the provider tax, which has been in place for 27 years. It provides funding for health care for 1 million people every month. No one enjoys paying taxes, but that’s not why we do so. We pay in order to make sure our community can have the services it needs. Taking this funding source away will hurt people and push them off their coverage. I spoke last week at an event to stop the GOP from allowing the provider tax to sunset.
Minnesota Values Budget
Every two years, the legislature puts together a budget for the state. It’s one of the most important things we’ll do over the coming months. Last week the House announced a framework for our budget, one that reflects Minnesota’s values and makes significant investments in education, affordable health care, and increasing economic prosperity across the state. If you want to read more about the budget you can do so here and here.
We are working to end the practice of handing blank checks to insurance companies, hoping that they’ll reduce premiums. Instead, we’ll make sure our health care funding goes directly to consumers to lower healthcare costs for Minnesotans. The budget will freeze tuition at our public universities, keep our air, water, and land clean, and address the need for gun violence prevention.
Safety on our Roads
We see it nearly every day: distracted drivers swerving in their lane or ignoring traffic signs. These mistakes are not only unsettling for the people around them, but they are also causing increases in traffic deaths. Today, distracted driving is a contributing factor in one out of every five car crashes.
That’s why the House and Senate acted on distracted driving legislation. Last week, both chambers passed versions of a bill to require drivers to put down their phones and focus on the road. The heart-wrenching stories of families who lost loved ones demonstrated perfectly how important this legislation is. All our lives are worth more than a text message.
Sixteen other states and Washington, D.C. have hands-free cell phone laws. According to WCCO, crashes and fatalities on the road decrease when states have hands-free cell phone laws on the books. Read more from MPR here and the Star Tribune here.
Thank you for keeping up with news from the Capitol, and feel free to reach out with questions or comments at any time!
Sincerely,
Alice Mann |
|
|
|