| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 8, 2023 |
PRESS CONTACT Ben Cook ben.cook@firesidecampaigns.com |
The President celebrated his health care success up to this point and shared his plans for the future
DENVER — Last night, President Biden gave his second State of the Union address. In his speech, he covered a wide range of issues reflective of the multiple concerns that the country is facing, including health care topics like access to health insurance, lowering the cost of prescription drugs, and abortion care. The President laid out his plan to address these issues over the next two years.
After the speech, Health Care Voices Founder Laura Packard issued the following statement:
“Since coming into office, President Biden has taken significant steps to increase health care access and affordability for all Americans. As highlighted in his address, Americans pay more for prescription drugs than almost any other country. Under the Inflation Reduction Act, Medicare will negotiate the prices of many prescription drugs, and limit out-of-pocket drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries. This will ease the burden of health care costs on working families by significantly increasing access to life-saving medications. But we must move beyond $35 insulin co-pays just for people on Medicare, so Biden called for Congress to expand this to everyone.
“Biden also called upon Congress to restore the right to an abortion after Roe v. Wade was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court last year. He assured the public that he intends to defend access to reproductive health care while protecting patient privacy. Additionally, the President highlighted the Cancer Moonshot, an initiative launched in 2022 with the goal of advancing cancer treatment and prevention, turning more cancers from death sentences into treatable diseases.
Finally, the President noted that more Americans have health insurance now than at any other point in history, including the over 16 million people who signed up for plans through the Affordable Care Act marketplace during the most recent enrollment period. Biden also stated that he has helped millions of Americans save an average of $800 per year on their health insurance premiums, and he called on Congress to make those savings permanent, as well as expand coverage to those whose states refused to expand Medicaid (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming).
“The State of our Health Care is improving, but as President Biden might say, we need to “finish the job!” The policies that President Biden laid out last night to make health care more accessible and affordable will save lives, just like the Affordable Care Act saved mine. We urge Members of Congress to take action now. Pass these crucial policies and expand upon our successes so that we can create a health care system that works for all Americans.”
Laura Packard is a small business owner and health care advocate, and founder of Health Care Voices, organizing adults with serious medical conditions. She is a stage 4 cancer survivor and the Affordable Care Act saved her life. Laura is also the host of Care Talk, a call-in health care show on act.tv and podcast to answer America’s health insurance questions about the ACA, Medicare and Medicaid (airing Mondays at 4:30pm ET).
If you’re interested in connecting with Laura to discuss the State of the Union address or health care policy more generally, please reach out to ben.cook@firesidecampaigns.com.
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