Friend, I reached out recently to ask for your experiences coping with the cost of prescription drugs—and man, did this team have some stories to tell.
Your answers made for a tough but necessary read—a set of personal, powerful reminders of how critically important it is that we break down the barriers to more affordable health care in this country—barriers that Mitch and his friends at the big drug companies have been more than happy to keep in place.
I wasn’t surprised to hear from many seniors struggling to afford prescriptions on Social Security income—a woman from Lexington shared that she’d been forced to move in with her kids, and a resident of Midway has had to decline prescriptions, medical tests and even surgery recommended by her doctor. Too many of you surpass Kentucky’s already-unbearable average of over $2,000 per year spent on prescriptions.
It was painful to read stories from people who are worried not only about themselves but also about the people who depend on them. I’m thinking of the mother in Alexandria who pays over $400 for her daughter’s EpiPen, and the mom in Alvaton who worries for her son, who has Type 1 diabetes and who will depend on ridiculously expensive insulin for the rest of his life to survive. And of course, I heard from multiple health care providers sickened by the realities they witness every day. A nurse from Lexington said “...it concerns me that many patients are forced to decide on food and rent over medical care.”
Those were the hardest stories to read—where people are forced to make terrible choices and sometimes unthinkable sacrifices. We all need to hear these stories (because so many of you shared such personal stories, they’ve been kept anonymous, including only hometowns):
“We spend more in one month on Rxs and health insurance than our home mortgage payment. Our house needs repairs, but we can't afford to get house repairs because of the cost for medical insurance and prescriptions.”
—Harrodsburg
“My son has Crohn’s disease. To stay in remission, he needs to have an infusion every eight weeks with Remicade. The cost of Remicade is so expensive that I have to put off my knee replacement because I can’t afford to pay for it.”
—Russell Springs
“Col. McGrath, like you, I'm a veteran and entitled to VA health coverage. However, my wife is a diabetic with heart issues and COPD. If it weren't for community health clinics, her Medicare wouldn't cover half of her medications. We struggle every month as it is to choose between prescriptions and food.”
—Corbin
“I simply don’t go to the doctor like I should. I know the cost of seeking medical attention and prescriptions. I can’t afford it even with insurance.”
—Stanton
“I often go without medicine because of the cost.”
—Louisville
These stories make me angry, team. In Kentucky, we have a senator who brags constantly about how much power he wields in Washington. And yet he is the single person blocking progress on this issue.
The House passed bipartisan legislation. The President says he wants to sign a bill. But Mitch won’t budge.
One of you, struggling in Berea, even told me you reached out to Mitch for help, writing about the burden of the pricing of premiums and prescriptions going up. He never wrote back.
It honestly makes you wonder how someone could sit in a position of such power while ignoring the very real and urgent needs of his constituents. With Mitch, I have a pretty strong hunch: It’s because he’s taken over $1.5 million from the pharmaceutical and medical products industries over the course of his career.
I’m not running for Senate just to defeat Mitch McConnell. I’m running because it’s time we had a senator who will fight for all of you who are living hardships like the ones shared above.
If you want to help send me to the Senate, you can chip in here.
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Thank you for sharing and for all you do,
Amy
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Paid for by Amy McGrath for Senate
P.O. Box 95 Lexington, KY 40588
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