DNC: Local Editorial Pages – GOP Faces Backlash for Voting Against Affordable Insulin

WASHINGTON, Aug. 11 -- The Democratic National Committee issued the following news release on Aug. 10, 2022:

Over the weekend, Senate Republicans voted against making prescription drugs like insulin more affordable. Now, the people and communities whose lives depend on this essential care are speaking out against the Republicans who voted against making the drug more affordable.

Here's a look at what Americans are reading in their local editorial pages about ultra-MAGA Republicans siding with Big Pharma:

In Iowa: Iowa Capital Dispatch: Editorial: Senate GOP takes shameful vote to block cap on insulin costs

Key Point: "Out-of-pocket costs depend on health insurance plans. But some high-deductible plans require patients to shell out $7,000 to $8,000 out of pocket before insurance pays a dime toward insulin costs. People die because they can't afford insulin and try to ration it. It's unconscionable. That's why it's so disappointing that Republicans in the U.S. Senate -- including Iowa Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst -- succeeded in stripping a provision out of a larger bill on Sunday that would have capped insurance co-pays for insulin at $35 a month."

In Missouri: St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Editorial: GOP opposition to climate-and-drug bill highlights party's twisted priorities

Key Point: "But anyone who believes that returning Congress to Republican control in this year's midterms would be good for anyone other than polluters, Big Pharma and corporate tax scofflaws should look hard at what the GOP stood for when it stood against this landmark legislation."

In Ohio: Columbus Dispatch: Opinion: Portman broke promise to my kids, others fighting for health, dad says

Key Point: "There are very few opportunities in today's politics for senators to cast a clear vote on a narrow and straightforward proposal. On Aug. 7, however, senators had exactly such an opportunity, when they voted on a Democratic plan to cap co-pays for insulin at $35 a month. Ohio Sen. Rob Portman voted against that proposal. In doing so, he abandoned more than 1 million Ohioans who have diabetes, including all three of my children. ... Portman, however, chose the side of Big Pharma and political partisanship and joined other Republicans to defeat the measure by just three votes."

In West Virginia: The Register-Herald: Opinion: GOP shoots itself in foot on health care

Key Point: "Capito seems to be saying that she couldn't care less that people, real people, our neighbors, fellow Mountaineers, through no fault of their own, have to ration their insulin because of its outrageous cost. Or maybe she just doesn't have a clue as to what so many in this economically challenged state are going through. I mean, she knows, obviously, the needle and the damage done with opioid addiction, and yet now she casts a vote that plays on the side of Big Pharma? News flash: West Virginia can use all the help it can get in addressing access to quality health care."

In Wisconsin: The Cap Times: Opinion | Ron Johnson is so cruel that he won't even help diabetics pay for insulin

Key Point: "But Johnson stood out as the cruelest member of that caucus when he broke with chamber's Democrats and even a number of his fellow Republicans to bitterly attack an effort to ensure that people with diabetes could afford life-saving insulin. Displaying the venomous dishonesty for which he has become known, Johnson dismissed the concerns of millions of Americans who were pleading for federal intervention to prevent drug company price gouging."

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Original text here: https://democrats.org/news/local-editorial-pages-gop-faces-backlash-for-voting-against-affordable-insulin/