Wednesday 3/27

Wednesday 3//27

Affordable Care Act at Risk (yet again)
Trump is trying to take away healthcare from millions of Americans again. The Department of Justice is now trying to get the courts to get rid of the Affordable Care Act. Up until now, Republicans have been trying to get rid of pre-existing condition protections and the individual mandate. I suppose now that Trump has filled his judiciary coffers with partisan judges, he feels emboldened to get rid of the whole ACA enchilada.

Healthcare is important to the majority of Americans. Many Democrats ran and won last November on protecting our healthcare. We’ve fought this battle before and we can (sigh) do it again. Let’s remind the American voters that THIS is why we need another blue wave in November.
https://www.axios.com/justice-trump-court-affordable-care-a…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/…/068cc2c4-4fd3-11e9-a3f7-78…

Big Pharma
The U. S. government used millions of taxpayer dollars to research and develop a medication that would prevent HIV infection. This seems like a good use of tax money to me. The problem is, despite the fact that the government patented the drug, it is the drug company, Gilead Sciences, not the taxpayers, that have profited $3 billions off of the sale of this medication. Read more about it here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/…/cee5afb4-40fc-11e9-9361-30…

Our own DFL state legislators are trying to combat Big Pharma price gouging at the Capitol and they are hitting a GOP roadblock. Representative Alice Mann (who happens to be a physician), has presented HF 728 along with other bills designed to reduce the price of prescription drugs by preventing price gouging, encouraging state purchasing power to lower cost, demanding price transparency from drug manufacturers, and ensuring access affordable insulin and an emergency supply of prescription drugs.

In response to this, the Republican Senate Chair of the Health and Human Services committee thinks that the answer is for patients to get their insulin in the ER and to use coupons in order to afford their medication.

I am not sure how affordable medication could be a partisan issue but that’s what it has become. Gross.
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php…
https://www.mprnews.org/…/mn-lawmakers-debate-high-cost-of-…

New Bill to Protect Pre-Existing Conditions
CD2’s Congresswoman Angie Craig, just announced her new bill, State Healthcare Premium Reduction Act, that would help reduce healthcare premium costs. Elections have consequences. It’s a brand new day with Rep. Craig in the House.
https://www.swnewsmedia.com/…/article_0d3681b4-2280-5b56-97…

Public Education
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos wants to cut education funding, including special educations programs and the Special Olympics. DeVos also wants to support scholarships for private schools. https://www.washingtonpost.com/…/9a0c7a38-4ff3-11e9-88a1-ed…

Does that make you mad? Well Minnesota Republicans are trying to do the same thing here. Don’t let this slip by unnoticed.http://www.startribune.com/senate-republicans-revive-pri…/…/

Check out CD2Action’s post on Census, Redistricting and Protecting the Vote- Help Wanted! https://cd2action.com/census-redistricting-and-protecting-…/

Some good news.