For Immediate Release
August 19, 2019
Contact: Connie Huynh, (213) 304-7267, c.huynh@peoplesaction.org
CHICAGO – From New York to Wisconsin, Connecticut and West Virginia, People’s Action members will rally across the country on August 20th to demand lower prices for lifesaving prescription drugs.
“Unprecedented prices have severely limited access to the Hepatitis C cure,” said Clifton Garmon, chief of staff of VOCAL-NY, a People’s Action member group that advances the interests of low-income New Yorkers. “If our government cared about saving lives, it would prioritize affordable medicines for all who need them.”
VOCAL members will rally outside the Trump International Hotel & Tower, 1 Central Park West in New York City, at 2 p.m. EDT, as part of the “People Over Pharma Profits” national day of action.
In Binghamton, New York, People’s Action member organization Citizen Action of New York leaders will gather alongside faith leaders, working families, and impacted patients and will be joined by the office of Representative Anthony Brindisi at the Metro Center, 49 Court Street, at 5:15 p.m. EDT to call on Congress and the Trump administration to lower drug prices.
In Hartford, Connecticut at 12:30 p.m. EDT, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal and Connecticut Attorney General William Tong will join members of the Connecticut Citizen Action Group and coalition partners at the Wheeler Clinic, 43 Woodland St. to demand a comprehensive plan to hold drug makers accountable and ensure access for patients to affordable medicines.
In Milwaukee, Wisconsin at 11 a.m. CDT, Congresswoman Gwen Moore will join Citizen Action of Wisconsin members and allies at the Calling statue, 941 E. Wisconsin Ave. to demand lower prices and an end to pharmaceutical monopolies.
West Virginia Citizen Action members will join former West Virginia Delegate Don Perdue at the Kanawha County Health Department in Charleston at 11 a.m. EDT.
Prescription drug prices jumped 10.5 percent in the first six months of 2019, four times faster than inflation. The price of insulin, which millions of people with diabetes need to survive, has tripled in the United States over the past decade.
People’s Action is at the forefront of demanding pharmaceutical makers lower drug prices, and end their opposition to #MedicareForAll. PhRMA, the national trade organization for big pharma, has spent millions on ads and lobbying to undermine the growing momentum behind universal health coverage.
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For more information, contact Connie Huynh, (213) 304-7267, c.huynh@peoplesaction.org, and:
- New York: Clifton Garmon, VOCAL-NY, 336-909-2852, clifton@vocal-ny.org; Mary Clark, Citizen Action of NY, 607-232-2084, cabing@citizenactionny.org
- Connecticut: Ann Pratt, 860-209-1234, ann.prattccag@gmail.com
- Wisconsin: Claire Zautke, Health Care Director, (414) 940-3375, claire@citizenactionwi.org
- West Virginia: Gary Zuckett, (304) 437-3701, garyz@wvcag.org
People’s Action is a progressive, multiracial, working-class coalition of more than a million people and 48 member organizations in 30 states. We fight for racial, gender, climate and economic justice.