FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 14, 2019
PRESS CONTACT:
press@affordableinsulinnow.org
Insulin Justice Advocates, Faith Leaders Hold 19 Prayer Vigils & Rallies Across The Country Demanding Justice for Victims of Insulin Crisis
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Affordable Insulin NOW and the Lower Drug Prices Now campaign partnered with a broad coalition of organizations and faith leaders to hold 19 rallies and prayer vigils across 17 states outside of congressional offices elevating the moral imperative of addressing the insulin crisis on World Diabetes Day.
The vigils and rallies emphasized the need for elected officials to grant Medicare the power to negotiate drug prices on behalf of patients in order to drastically lower drug prices, and called on drug corporation executives to answer for their role in the insulin crisis.
“On World Diabetes Day, we’ve come together to send a clear and urgent message: no one in this country should be forced to ration life-saving medication — or go without — because they can’t afford it,” said Lower Drug Prices Now Executive Director Margarida Jorge. “We must create a system where everyone gets affordable access to medicines they need. It’s time to stop drug corporations from price gouging patients, insist that the government create fair rules to ensure access and affordability for everyone, and hold elected officials accountable for setting policy based on what’s best for people, not for corporate profits. This is a case where people’s lives truly depend on it.”
“I’m here today to tell every politician in Congress that God desires healthy and abundant life for everyone. But pharmaceutical corporations have rigged the rules so their shareholders and CEOs can get even richer, at the expense of our sick family members,” said Executive Director of Faith in Public Life Reverend Jennifer Butler. “It is greed. It is sin. And it doesn’t have to be this way. Congress can stand up to greed instead of giving in to it. Taxpayer dollars developed so many of the drugs that cure our suffering and save our lives. Our public servants can rein in the corporations who deny us what is rightfully ours. They can bring down costs for the drugs that free us from suffering, so that health and comfort and dignity are available to all, not hoarded as a privilege for the few.”
“Today’s prayers and rallies across the country were a resounding call to action for the powerbrokers of this public health crisis,” said Affordable Insulin NOW Campaign Director Rosemary Enobakhare. “Justice for those who need insulin is within our reach — and Congress has the chance to grab it with both hands by passing H.R. 3, the Lower Drug Costs Now Act, granting Medicare the power to negotiate the prices of lifesaving drugs like insulin for the millions of Americans who are still being priced out of their own survival.”
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About Affordable Insulin Now
Affordable Insulin NOW (a project of Health Care Voter) is a campaign aimed at holding politicians and pharmaceutical executives accountable and pushing for bold actions to address insulin pricing by sharing stories of patients who are struggling to afford treatment, and helping them advocate for changes to make insulin more affordable. We are mobilizing advocates to demand action on addressing the rising cost of prescription drugs for the millions of people whose lives are on the line.
About Lower Drug Prices Now
Lower Drug Prices Now is a growing coalition campaign that includes Action Center on Race and the Economy, American Federation of State, Country, Municipal Employees (AFSCME), American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), Alliance for Retired Americans, American Medical Student Association (AMSA), Center for Popular Democracy (CPD), Faith in Public Life (FPL), Families USA, Health Care for America Now (HCAN), Health Care Voter Affordable Insulin Now, HousingWorks, Indivisible, MomsRising.org, MoveOn.org, Other 98%, Oxfam, People’s Action, Public Citizen, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Social Security Works, UNIDOS US Action Fund, United Auto Workers (UAW). The campaign advocates for lower drug prices through reforms that rein in drug corporations’ monopoly power, require the drug industry to negotiate fair prices with government; and to hold corporations accountable for price-gouging.