Kennedy in the Washington Examiner: Insulin price caps will save taxpayer dollars

MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) wrote this op-ed in the Washington Examiner urging his colleagues in Washington to join his effort to reduce federal spending on health care by capping the price of insulin. Kennedy explains how making insulin affordable will improve the overall health of Americans with diabetes. This care helps them avoid the costly hospital visits and health complications that often fall to the taxpayer to cover.

Earlier this year, Sen. Kennedy joined Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) in introducing the Affordable Insulin Now Act of 2023, a bill which would ensure that all Americans, including those without insurance, have access to insulin that costs $35 per month or less.

Key excerpts of the op-ed are below:

“More than one in 10 Americans live with diabetes, and many of them cannot afford the insulin they need to stay out of the emergency room.

“For years now, Congress has nibbled around the edges of insulin affordability rather than addressing the issue directly. This failure to act results in needless suffering and financial stress for families living with diabetes, and it saddles the American taxpayer with billions of dollars in related healthcare spending.”

. . .

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that Americans spend $327 billion annually to cover healthcare expenses and lost wages related to diabetic care. Louisiana alone spends an estimated $5.7 billion on care related to diabetes each year.”

. . .

“This bill would ensure that all Americans, including those without insurance, have access to a 30-day supply of insulin that costs no more than $35.

“This plan isn’t one of Washington’s out-of-control spending policies. Any costs associated with capping insulin prices will be fully offset by cutting spending elsewhere in our $6 trillion annual federal budget. More importantly, improving access to affordable insulin can lower federal healthcare spending overall. That means we’re taking a big burden off both diabetics and taxpayers.”

. . .

“We cap the price of insulin at $35 per month today, and we can save thousands of dollars—if not tens of thousands of dollars—per patient in avoided hospital expenses. You don’t need to work on Wall Street to appreciate this return on investment.

“Without adding a penny to the federal budget, Congress can make it affordable for every American to get the insulin they need to stay healthy, go to work, care for their children, contribute to the economy and their community, and avoid costly emergency room visits that end up costing American taxpayers.”

Read the full op-ed here.

Kennedy: We can lower cost of insulin without adding to federal budget

“We need to be smart enough to figure this out. And the cost? I think it can be done for $250 million a year, and I'm not talking about taking out a reverse mortgage on Alaska and borrowing more money. I'm talking about finding it in our budget.”

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today questioned witnesses in the Senate Appropriations Committee on the bipartisan Affordable Insulin Now Act of 2023, which he and Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) introduced this March. Their bill would cap the price of insulin for all patients, including those who are uninsured, at $35 for a 30-day supply.

Key moments from the committee exchange include:

“We need to stop nibbling around the edges. We need to be smart enough to figure this out. And the cost? I think it can be done for $250 million a year, and I'm not talking about taking out a reverse mortgage on Alaska and borrowing more money. I'm talking about finding it in our budget,” said Kennedy.

 “The federal budget is 6,000 billion dollars every year—and we can’t find $250 million to cap the price of insulin? Let's do it right,” Kennedy concluded.

 Background on the Affordable Insulin Now Act:

 More than 14 percent of Louisiana’s adult population has been diagnosed with diabetes, and more than 30 percent of adult Louisianians are pre-diabetic.

 Louisiana alone spends an estimated $5.7 billion a year on direct medical expenses for those who are diagnosed with diabetes. By ensuring that insulin is affordable, the long-term cost of care for patients will decrease over time as more Americans are able to prevent complications including heart disease, kidney disease, strokes and other diagnoses.

 According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, medical costs and lost work and wages for people with diagnosed diabetes total $327 billion yearly, and the American Diabetes Association has asserted that diabetics account for $1 of every $4 spent on health care in the U.S.

 A national study projected that improving access to insulin for uninsured patients could help avoid complications of diabetes and deaths related to the disease. As a result, the health care system could save substantial amounts of money on providing care to uninsured diabetes patients.

 The Affordable Insulin Now Act of 2023 would:

•  Require private group or individual plans to cover one of each insulin dosage form (i.e., vial, pen) and insulin type (i.e., rapid-acting, short-acting, intermediate-acting, and long-acting) for no more than $35 per month.

•  Require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a program to reimburse qualifying entities for covering any costs that exceed $35 for providing a 30-day supply of insulin to uninsured patients.

• Be fully paid for by an offset and not add to the federal deficit.

Kennedy’s efforts to save taxpayer money by defraying insulin costs include:

• In August 2022, Kennedy introduced an amendment to President Biden’s inflation reduction Act to cap insulin costs.

• In June 2022, Kennedy penned an op-ed outlining the benefits of making insulin affordable for diabetic Louisianians.

• In September 2021, Kennedy introduced the Seniors Saving on Insulin Act and the Vital Medication Affordability Act in an effort to make insulin and epinephrine more affordable.

• In August 2021, Kennedy introduced the Ending Pricey Insulin Act to address skyrocketing insulin prices.   

Support HB 548 (Rep. Blake Miguez with Iberia Medical Center)

In this video, Rep. Blake Miguez describes the importance of protecting 340B funding for rural healthcare access in his community with examples of local services that are made possible at Iberia Medical Center with this funding. “Big PhRMA’s attempt to eliminate these discounts would endanger lifesaving access in our community and potentially increase costs for local and state taxpayers,” said Rep. Miguez. “I support HB 548, which protects Louisiana’s healthcare providers so our friends and neighbors can receive lifesaving care close to home.”

LA Policy Review: Medicare Advantage is the GOOD Policy Our Seniors Deserve

Good policy is a measure that serves the needs of a large group of individuals. Here in Louisiana, nearly 460,000 individuals—over half the state’s Medicare eligible population—join over 30 million people around the country in enjoying Medicare Advantage. With 95% of seniors satisfied with their coverage, Medicare Advantage is the good policy they are looking for to access quality and affordable health care. That is why we at the Louisiana Policy Review are proud supporters of the program.

Medicare Advantage is a health care option for Americans 65 and older who are looking for more options in their health care. Medicare Advantage offers the same coverage as original Medicare, along with a series of additional benefits that provide enrollees with a more comprehensive experience. For many seniors, that includes expanded prescription drug coverage and a cap on out-of-pocket expenses. Benefits also include coverage for vision, dental, and hearing. This allows enrollees to enjoy a well-rounded approach to their health care.

An important aspect of Medicare Advantage plans is preventative care. Seniors enjoy this focus because it keeps them out of the hospital and at home with their families, living life the way that they want. Whether it is a preventative test or screening, Medicare Advantage plans are designed to keep seniors healthy and happy.

For people who live in rural areas, like certain populations in Louisiana, Medicare Advantage has a significant impact on their ability to receive high quality care. By providing choice in health care, Medicare Advantage supports rural health centers. More than 4 million rural Americans receive their health care coverage through Medicare Advantage and enjoy services such as telehealth.

The impact of Medicare Advantage is undeniable. However, in their recent advance rate notice, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed cutting funds for the program. The Biden Administration must do the right thing and reconsider these changes. The health care of our seniors is too important to risk.

JINDAL: Preserving Access to Rural Cardiac Care

Americans living in small rural communities take great pride in their hometowns. When it comes to their health care, America's 46 million rural residents want access to basic care within their own communities. Inflation, poor fiscal performance, and a lack of political leadership threaten that access. More than 500 U.S. hospitals are now at risk for closure, impeding access to care in many of these towns. The Biden administration's latest effort to save these hospitals forgoes a comprehensive strategy for a superficial solution that will result in less local care and worse outcomes for many communities.

On January 1, a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rule went into effect that allows a critical access hospital to convert to a "rural emergency hospital"—a new designation, defined as a facility which provides emergency and outpatient care, but must forgo inpatient care services and transfer patients within 24 hours to another hospital. This "catch-22" situation risks timely emergency services for rural patients and absolves state and local officials from fighting to preserve access to life-saving medical care.

Saving critical access hospitals that rural Americans depend on for time-sensitive cardiac or stroke care is key to keeping local economies strong and reducing the burden on overflowing metropolitan hospitals. Washington bureaucrats have yet to propose a comprehensive strategy to work with state and local leaders to engage with physicians to solve this problem.

Read more: Preserving Access to Rural Cardiac Care | Opinion

Hollis urges leaders not to allow optometrists at VA to perform surgeries

Eight years ago, I fought against House Bill 1065 in the Louisiana State Legislature - a bill that sought to authorize optometrists to perform eye surgery even though they are neither medical doctors nor trained surgeons. I argued that just as chiropractors do not perform surgery on bones and joints, optometrists should not be allowed to perform eye surgery.

I am disappointed to now learn the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs recently made changes signaling the consideration of new national standards that could allow optometrists in the VA network to perform surgeries on our nation's veterans.

This should not even be a conversation. 

Optometrists are not qualified to perform surgeries. The only medical doctors licensed and trained to perform eye surgeries are ophthalmologists.Ophthalmologists go through years of extensive training with clinical and surgical residencies. Surgical courses available to optometrists are optional and involve no actual procedures on live patients. Simply put, optometrists are neither qualified nor equipped to handle the intricacies of eye surgery.

Today, the Veteran Administration's policies allow only ophthalmologists to perform eye surgeries on veterans. This could change with the release of new national standards. This is completely unacceptable and puts our veterans at risk of receiving low-quality care and incurring the risk of severe complications.

Our veterans have earned the right to the highest quality of care from the VA and its providers. There are no substitutions for trained and qualified professionals, and our nation's warriors deserve the best.

I appreciate Senator Bill Cassidy's leadership on this issue and urge him, as a medical doctor and a member of the Veterans Affairs Committee, to call upon the VA to maintain its long-standing policy of allowing only ophthalmologists to perform eye surgery on veterans. We must continue to give our heroes the quality of care they deserve.

Rep. Paul Hollis 

District 104

St. Tammany Parish

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Benefits of Medicare Advantage

Dear Editor,

Like many Americans, I worked hard my entire life, looking forward to the day that I could sit back and enjoy my retirement. However, as the aches and pains of aging set in, I was worried this wouldn’t be a reality for me. It wasn’t just the physical health issues that concerned me, but also that the stress would affect my quality of life in other ways. Luckily, I was able to enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan, and its numerous benefits have impacted my life beyond belief.

Right off the bat, I was impressed with the attention my Medicare Advantage provider showed while I was enrolling in the program. They were genuinely concerned with my wants, and they had a commitment to meeting my personal and medical needs. As I began to learn more and more about the benefits Medicare Advantages offered, I was pleased with the comprehensive, low-cost coverage. My plan includes services like as dental, vision, and hearing benefits, wellness programs, home health services, and so much more.

 Because of Medicare Advantage, I can enjoy my retirement, like all people should, with my family, friends, and loved ones.

Sincerely

Lu Jones

HENRY: Give Our Vets The Best Care!

Written by Senator Cameron Henry - Cameron Henry is a member of the Louisiana State Senate representing District 9, which includes Jefferson and Orleans parishes.

In 2014, the Louisiana State Legislature passed House Bill 1065, authorizing optometrists to perform eye surgery despite the fact that they are neither medical doctors nor trained surgeons. I opposed that bill then and still oppose the policy.

Now, eight years later, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is taking steps in the same direction, which could put the health and safety of our nation’s heroes at risk. Optometrists are licensed to practice optometry, which involves services like primary vision care, including eye exams and fittings for glasses and contacts, as well as diagnosing and monitoring certain eye conditions. While optometrists play an extremely important role in eye care delivery, they are not qualified to perform eye surgery, including laser surgical procedures. Optometry’s education model doesn’t require students to attend any surgical residency, and any optional surgical courses available to optometrists don’t involve extensive training or procedures on live patients.

Read more: HENRY: Give Our Vets The Best Care!

HEALTH FREEDOM LOUISIANA: You Can't Sue Pharma and Our Children Pay the Price

Photo source: Health Freedom Louisiana

The following was written by the newest Health Freedom Louisiana team member, Katie Green.

Imagine, if you will, a company so powerful that it controlled all the other companies; an industry so dominating, it was at the helm of the hospitals, the schools, government, and the entire country’s healthcare system. Now imagine that same company could harm individuals without having to suffer even a single consequence. Envision the hospital your grandmother resides in or the school your 5 yr old son is applying to next year entirely protected from any form of accountability or liability.

The majority of Americans believe that the large companies, agencies, and systems that “serve” them are all independently run. They are blissfully unaware of the hard hitting fact that the industries who dominate our lives collude, partner, and intertwine intimately together in an incestuous relationship with the government to shape the everyday existence of our domain. The landscape in which the public interacts with day in and day out traces back to the path of big pharma and its never-ending dance with monetary incentive.

The pharmaceutical companies are personally responsible for the engineered belief that toxins are healthy, children are born broken, immune systems don’t exist, and illness needs to be prevented with a cocktail of physiological mayhem.

Read more: You Can't Sue Pharma and Our Children Pay the Price

OPINION: Drug price controls would hurt seniors

The latest iteration of Build Back Better — the president’s multi-trillion-dollar tax-and-spending binge that has been stalled in Congress all year — purports to reduce the cost of prescription drugs via negotiation.

Medicare prescription drug plans already negotiate prices aggressively. As Obama’s CBO director Doug Elmendorf explained back in 2009: “Additional authority to negotiate for lower drug prices would have little, if any, effect on prices for the same reason that my predecessors have explained, which is that private drug plans are already negotiating drug prices.”

So how can Democrats extract the $250 billion they are counting on draining from Medicare drug spending to fund the creation of new, unrelated welfare programs in Build Back Better? They don’t negotiate — they impose price controls.

Read more: Drug price controls would hurt seniors

Federal Judge Blocks COVID Vaccine Mandate for Healthcare Workers Challenged by Jeff Landry

Judge Terry Doughty of the Monroe division of the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Louisiana issued the ruling blocking the mandate, which would have applied to the more than 10 million U.S. healthcare workers who are employees of facilities that take money from Medicare and Medicaid. CMS estimated that roughly 2.4 million of those workers remain unvaccinated.

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry and the attorneys general of 13 other states sued the Biden administration over the rule earlier this month.

Read more: Federal judge blocks COVID vaccine mandate for healthcare workers challenged by Jeff Landry

Analyzing the New Prescription Drug Pricing Proposal For Reconciliation

This week, Democratic lawmakers released the broad outlines of a deal negotiated between moderates and liberals to include prescription drug pricing provisions in the reconciliation bill. NTU raised immediate concerns with the early details of the deal, warning that the proposals could negatively affect patients, taxpayers, and the U.S. health care sector broadly.

Lawmakers released legislative text for the proposals on November 3.

Read more: Analyzing the New Prescription Drug Pricing Proposal For Reconciliation

OPINION: Oppose Government Price Fixing

When I first showed symptoms of Ulcerative Colitis, I had no idea what was going on. All of a sudden, foods that I had enjoyed my entire life were causing me intense pain and abdominal cramps. As the symptoms intensified over time, it came to feel almost like my body was betraying me. 

The symptoms of my Ulcerative Colitis have since become so severe that I have started rounds of a low-grade chemotherapy treatment to try to eradicate the inflammation and ulcers in my digestive track. While this is an aggressive treatment, I am willing to do whatever it takes to get back to health.

Ulcerative Colitis currently does not have a cure. While the medications I take and the treatments I receive certainly help, I would love to be able to go out to lunch with my family and friends without triple checking the menu beforehand.

I long for the day that I am able to beat my Ulcerative Colitis, and I know that this is only possible through the hard work of our nation’s biopharmaceutical companies.

I am confused as to why some in Congress then are pushing price fixing policies like Medicare negotiation that could stifle the development of new treatments patients like me are yearning for. One estimate from the Congressional Budget Office has suggested that this legislation could mean that 60 fewer cures are developed.

I need lawmakers to support the industry that is working to find cures for patients like me. I hope our leaders stand firm in their  opposition to changes to Medicare.

We need to all oppose government price fixing.

Camille Babineaux 
New Iberia, LA

Congress is about to legislate a future without new medicines. We have a better plan

People who understand where medicines come from are sounding the alarm. In the largest grassroots effort in the history of the drug industry, we — alongside hundreds of biotech entrepreneurs, academic luminaries, patient advocates, and prominent investors — sent a letter to Congress explaining the drastic consequences of redefining the word “negotiation.” Others continue to add their names. The signers collectively represent nearly $187 billion in science-focused capital, 21,000 Americans employed in life sciences, and hundreds of drug candidates in clinical trials. We are motivated by a concern that Congress is about to extinguish the fight against disease and suffering that our community has dedicated itself to for decades.

Read more: Congress is about to legislate a future without new medicines. We have a better plan

Democrats’ Majority At Risk If Biden Goes Down Wrong Path On Drug Pricing

Looking forward to the 2022 midterms, the Democrats face an uphill battle.

Not only do the Republicans only need to flip five seats to take back the House of Representatives, but the latest generic ballot polling from NBC News/Wall Street Journal indicates that the Democrats hold only a one-point lead nationwide, clearly within the margin of error and presumably favoring Republicans in many swing districts.

Further, redistricting has the likelihood to give Republicans an even better advantage.

Read more: Democrats’ Majority At Risk If Biden Goes Down Wrong Path On Drug Pricing

No Government Price Controls to Pay for Biden’s Gargantuan Spending Bill

Photo source: Citizens Against Government Waste

Here we go again.  Even though the private and competitive negotiations in Medicare Part D among insurers, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), drug manufacturers, and pharmacists resulted in lower than expected costs and high satisfaction, the Biden administration is calling for this system to be replaced with government-negotiated pricing, which is currently prohibited by the non-interference clause in Medicare law that protects market competition.  They claim that there would be significant savings, and this time they want to use this money to help pay for President Biden’s prolific “infrastructure” package.  But the government does not negotiate prices, it sets prices and uses price controls to achieve its objectives.

Read more: No Government Price Controls to Pay for Biden’s Gargantuan Spending Bill

Trump Administration Should Avoid European Style Drug Pricing

There seems to be a renewed push for the United States to copy the socialist health care model of Europe with regard to health care pricing.  Importing socialism from nations like Germany would be a mistake because it will destroy the market forces that have made the United States the economic and innovation leader of the world. With all the flaws we have in the American health care system, more government interference will not make things better – it will make the system worse.

Read more: Trump Administration Should Avoid European Style Drug Pricing

ATR Statement on Drug Pricing Executive

“A most favored nation proposal would slow medical innovation, threaten American jobs, and undermine conservative opposition to Medicare-for-All.

“President Trump has consistently opposed efforts that would lead to a government takeover of America’s health care—such as the “Medicare-for-All” scheme pushed by Democrats in Congress and on the campaign trial. As recently as his 2020 State of the Union Address, the President promised 'We will never let socialism destroy American health care.'

“Rather than fighting these socialist policies, a MFN would adopt them. This will have disastrous consequences to the economy and health care system and to the broader effort to fight against the government takeover of health care.

“The order is not set to be effective until August 24.  Between now and then we urge the President to explore ways to shift to a market-based approach like those the Trump Administration has consistently supported in other areas of healthcare.”

Read more: ATR Statement on Drug Pricing Executive Orders

Socialist Drug Price Controls Have No Place in America

Pssst…  Want to turn American healthcare into the equivalent of this week’s Iowa Democratic caucus fiasco? 

Just import foreign drug price controls to the United States, and voila. 

The same types of people who couldn’t manage to introduce a new app in a caucus involving a few thousand people on a single night in a single state expect us to trust them to control healthcare with metronomic precision for 330 million people?  Mark me skeptical. 

For his part, President Trump offered reassurance in his State of the Union speech this week when he said, “To those watching at home tonight, I want you to know we will never let socialism destroy American healthcare.” 

Read more: Socialist Drug Price Controls Have No Place in America

Now is Not the Time to Disrupt Medical Supply Chains with Buy American Policies

Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) understands the concern the administration and members of Congress have with China and its recent actions concerning the coronavirus.  But, when the nation is in the middle of an unprecedented public health crisis, it is not the time to impose restrictions on federal agency purchases.  The U.S. is already having shortages with medical supplies like face masks and medical gloves without compounding the problem by imposing strict “Buy American” mandates on manufacturers.

Read more: Now is Not the Time to Disrupt Medical Supply Chains with Buy American Policies