EXPANDING HEALTHCARE COVERAGE AND REDUCING COSTS FOR MICHIGANDERS
Michigan families are concerned about rising healthcare costs and the price of prescription drugs. That’s why we’re closely examining the healthcare records and plans of the candidates for President and U.S. Senate. This election is about ensuring working families have access to quality, affordable healthcare. We’re going to help you understand who will fight for you and who won’t.
Biden-Harris Administration Releases New Medicare Prices for 10 Common Drugs
Source: Senator Rep. Elissa Slotkin (@RepSlotkin), Twitter, 8/15/2024; White House Fact Sheet, 8/15/2024
ISSUE FOCUS:
VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS’S
EXPERIENCE MAKING HEALTHCARE
MORE AFFORDABLE
Vice President Kamala Harris has fought hard to make healthcare more affordable and accessible for everyone. She’s been a strong advocate for lowering prescription drug prices, expanding coverage, and holding Big Pharma accountable for their price gouging. You can see her record for yourself—she’s worked tirelessly to make a difference for families across the country.
AS THE VICE PRESIDENT
٪ Put money back in working families’ pockets by casting the deciding vote on the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which established a $35 cap on insulin costs for those on Medicare
٪ Strengthened the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and reduced premium costs by an average of $800 per year
٪ Allowed Medicare to negotiate and lower the costs of 10 of the most expensive prescription drugs, which will save seniors roughly $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs
Sources: Center on Budget & Policy Priorities, 3/25/2024; POLITICO, 8/15/2024; Protect Our Care, 8/9/2024; Office of Health Policy, Health and Human Services, 2023 Report
AS A U.S. SENATOR
٪ Focused on reducing prescription drug costs, eliminating junk insurance plans, and improving maternal health
٪ Worked to impose penalties on drug companies that harm consumers with unfair price hikes on prescription drugs
٪ Sponsored two bills to block junk insurance plans that refuse coverage for essential healthcare and pre-existing conditions like diabetes and arthritis
Sources: East County Today, 2/7/2019; Protect Our Care, 8/9/2024; S.J. Res. 63, Roll Call Vote #226, 10/10/2018; S.J. Res. 52, Roll Call Vote #337, 10/30/2019; Roll Call, 7/25/2024
AS ATTORNEY GENERAL
٪ Took on healthcare corporations and drug companies while defending the ACA, including winning a $241 million settlement for taxpayers in one case
٪ Sued Big Pharma for deceptive marketing and challenged their “pay-for-delay” agreements that prevent consumers from accessing competitors’ cheaper generic versions of brand-name drugs, saving working people nearly $7.2 billion
٪ Protected Americans’ access to affordable healthcare, defending the ACA in court and working to ensure that millions of Americans could get the healthcare they needed through Medicaid expansion
Sources: Health Affairs, 10/1/2020; Protect Our Care, 8/22/2024; CLP, 6/23/2011
ABOUT MINNESOTA GOV. TIM WALZ
AND HIS RECORD ON REDUCING HEALTHCARE COSTS
One of the reasons Vice President Harris chose Governor Tim Walz as her running mate is his long record of fighting to improve healthcare access and reduce costs for working families. Growing up in rural Nebraska, Walz’s family was devastated by his father’s death after a long battle with lung cancer— and by the medical debt they were forced to take on to treat his illness. This experience ultimately led Tim Walz to his career in public service, through which he has worked to expand healthcare and reduce the crippling burden of medical debt on working families.
Source: The Washington Post, 8/24/2024
Fighting Medical Debt:
As Governor, Walz advocated for and signed into law the Debt Fairness Act. This law eased the burden of medical debt, banned medical providers from withholding necessary care because of debt, and prevented medical debt from impacting credit scores.
Source: POLITICO, 8/6/2024
Reducing Prescription Drug Prices:
Under Walz’s leadership, Minnesota passed the Alec Smith Insulin Affordability Act, becoming one of the first states to enact a law capping out-of-pocket costs for insulin.
Source: AJMC, 8/9/2024
STAY INFORMED: YOUR CANDIDATES FOR U.S. SENATE ON HEALTHCARE
Rep. Elissa Slotkin has worked to expand access to affordable healthcare coverage for every Michigander.
Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin has consistently championed the Affordable Care Act (ACA). With her leadership in passing the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Congresswoman Slotkin has continued to protect and strengthen the ACA, as well as Medicare and Medicaid. As a result, Michiganders are seeing relief from the high costs of prescription drugs and healthcare:
• A record number of Americans, including 1.4 million Michiganders, now have affordable healthcare coverage under the ACA
• Insulin copays for Medicare Part D beneficiaries are now capped at $35 per month
• Out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs will be limited to a maximum of $2,000 per year for seniors starting in 2025
Sources: Michigan Advance, 3/23/2024;
Mike Rogers, the Republican candidate for Senate, voted against the Affordable Care Act, which has helped millions of Michiganders get the health coverage they need.
• Rogers voted against the Affordable Care Act, the law that protects people with pre-existing conditions, and he’s repeatedly tried to overturn it
• Rogers voted to limit prescription drug benefits for Medicare recipients
• Rogers voted against letting Medicare negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs, siding with Big Pharma over seniors trying to afford their medications
Sources: Detroit Free Press, 9/6/2023; H.R. 6079, Roll Call Vote #460, 7/11/2012; H.R. 45, Roll Call Vote #154, 5/16/2013; The ‘Gander, 3/14/2024; Mike Rogers, Republican National Convention, 7/16/2024
WORKER VOICES
Vice President Kamala Harris cast the deciding vote to pass the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which included historic provisions to lower the costs of healthcare and prescription drugs. Here’s
how the Act is helping real people afford their care:
DeAnn Roesner of Alpena strongly supports the Inflation Reduction Act, which capped out-of-pocket costs for Medicare Part D recipients at $35 a month for insulin and, starting in 2025, $2,000 a year for prescription drugs.
“With [the Inflation Reduction Act] I won’t have to put off purchasing my medications in order to afford my heating bill in the winter or cut down on weekly groceries.”
Roesner is frustrated with politicians like Donald Trump and former Rep. Mike Rogers who want to eliminate the Inflation Reduction Act. It’s lowering costs on everyday necessities like prescription drugs and energy bills, while creating good-paying jobs right here in America.
“It makes me very angry. It’s easy to see that they themselves don’t have to try to purchase prescriptions like insulin using Medicare or using Social Security, or a limited income.”
Sources: Traverse City Record-Eagle, 8/13/2022; The Michigan Independent, 8/1/2024
When medical issues forced longtime teacher Pam Bloink to retire, her health insurance copays were quickly burning through her savings. Now, thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, the Rockford resident says her annual insulin cost alone was cut in half. And while she takes prescription medications for other conditions that are even more expensive, the 2025 cap will save her thousands of dollars each year.
“My out-of-pocket costs this year are still going to be like $8,000. They were $7,500 last year. So the $2,000 [cap] next year is going to make a huge difference,” she explained. “It’s going to get even better.”
Sources: The ‘Gander, 2/14/2024; The Michigan Independent, 7/23/2024
In Union is an organization of, by, and for working people that provides straightforward, fact-based information to more than two million people who trust us to be unbiased on topics like the economy and healthcare. In Union doesn’t endorse, lobby, or take contributions from politicians or candidates—and we don’t contribute to them. Instead, we tackle issues important to working-class families, ways to hold politicians accountable, and tips to save money—and we always provide sources.
