Rep. Ansari Hosts Shadow Hearing on Healthcare Affordability

WASHINGTON - This week, Representative Yassamin Ansari, Chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus' (CPC) Lowering Costs Taskforce, hosted the Taskforce's second shadow hearing, titled "Patients Over Profits: Lowering Healthcare Costs for All Americans." The hearing featured experts and CPC members discussing proposals to expand prescription drug price negotiations, tackle PBM and corporate hospital profiteering, reduce out-of-pocket costs, and ensure all Americans can access affordable, high-quality healthcare.

"Medicare and Medicaid need protections and reinforcement now more than ever. Insurance premiums are rising, and millions of Americans have been stripped of their healthcare, with the expectation for millions more to lose Medicare or Medicaid as well," said Rep. Ansari. "Progressives are ready to tackle this issue with innovative policy and bold reforms. We have the legislation, the vision, and the energy to see it through. With Medicare for All, we can provide every American with access to medically necessary healthcare. The health of our nation cannot continue to be at the whims of corporations."

"People are hurting. When I am home in my district and at the grocery store, I hear the stories of families struggling to afford basic essentials like healthcare. This issue has been made worse after Republicans let cost-saving tax credits expire and passed the Big Ugly Bill that gutted $1 trillion from Medicaid," said Congresswoman Dingell. "I have been fighting to expand access to affordable, quality healthcare since entering Congress, and I am not letting up. When Democrats take back the House, we will continue fighting to lower healthcare costs, increase access to coverage, and give working families an opportunity to thrive."

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"Rep. Ansari, Rep. Dingell and the Congressional Progressive Caucus are correct in understanding the urgent imperative of lowering the cost of prescription medicines for Americans. Big Pharma's monopolistic price gouging of Americans is worse now than at any time in American history but easily addressed if Congress and the Executive have the political will to do so. Expanding Medicare drug price negotiation to cover all drugs, with no delays and to apply to the private market could save the nation roughly $200 billion every year," said Robert Weissman, Co-President, Public Citizen.

"Every day, families are forced to choose between a paycheck and caring for the people they love. Home care for seniors and disabled or chronically ill family members can cost up to $68,000 a year, and over $288,000 for those with the most intensive needs. Medicaid is how most Americans actually pay for long-term care, yet H.R. 1's historic cuts shredded that patchwork system. These cuts don't save money, they benefit the wealthiest among us while shifting costs onto emergency rooms, states, and family caregivers, who already provide $1.1 trillion in unpaid care and often can't get care for themselves. Affordable care isn't a luxury. It's what 130 million family caregivers, care workers, seniors, and disabled people in this country are counting on," said Nicole Jorwic, Chief Program Officer, Caring Across Generations.

"Our healthcare system has been broken for decades," said Lisa Brown, Executive Vice President of the 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, Maryland/DC Division. "Bad policy, lack of oversight, and corporate interests in healthcare have led us here, and people are dying because of it. But 1199, and SEIU, will fight to right these wrongs and build a better world for healthcare workers and patients."

"We are now at a breaking point. And the cause is clear: extreme concentration of health care corporations that extract obscene amounts of wealth by inflating medical prices and premiums. Thank you to Congresswomen Ansari and Dingell for hosting this important conversation about how we expand access to high-quality affordable healthcare," said Topher Spiro, Senior Health Fellow, Center for American Progress.

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