Hillary Clinton Announces Plan to Combat High Prescription Drug Prices

On Friday, Hillary Clinton announced a plan to combat the rising cost of prescription drugs, particularly the excessive rise in costs of live saving prescriptions like the EpiPen. Clinton’s plan would create a federal team to monitor drug prices and track increases. Her plan also provides several actions the government could take when drug prices have been raised excessively such as fines and increased access to treatment programs. An outline of Clinton’s proposal is below, and the full plan can be read on The Briefing.

• Making alternatives available and increasing competition
• Emergency importation of safe treatments
• Penalties for unjustified price increases to hold drug companies accountable and fund expanded access
• Dedicated oversight to protect consumers
• Strong new enforcement measures to respond when there are unjustified, outlier price increases that threaten public health
  • Directly intervening to make treatments available, and supporting generic and alternative manufacturers that enter the market and increase competition to bring down prices
  • Broadening access to safe, high-quality generic and alternative competitors through emergency importation
  • Holding drug makers accountable for unjustified price increases with new penalties – and using the funds to expand access and competition
• Cap monthly and annual out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs to save patients with chronic or serious health conditions hundreds or thousands of dollars
• Clear out the FDA generic backlog
• Prohibit “pay for delay” arrangements that keep generic competition off the market
• Ensure American consumers are getting value for their drugs
• Stop direct-to-consumer drug company advertising subsidies, and reinvest funds in research
• Require drug companies that benefit from taxpayers’ support to invest in research, not marketing or profits
• Allow Medicare to negotiate drug and biologic prices and demand higher rebates for prescription drugs in Medicare

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News Source: The Briefing, The New York Times

Clinton Campaigns with Warren Buffett in Omaha

On Monday, Hillary Clinton traveled to Omaha, Nebraska where she was joined by billionaire businessman Warren Buffett. During his speech, he called out Republican Donald Trump for his questionable business practices and bankruptcies. The focus of his attacks on Trump, however, was the fact he has not released any of his tax returns. He told the crowd that Trump isn’t afraid of his financial practices, but he is afraid of what the American public will think of his finances. He said, “You’re only afraid if you’ve got something to be afraid about. He’s not afraid because of the IRS, he’s afraid because of you.”

Clinton then took the stage and spoke about a number of the same issues she covered during her convention speech last week. She pledged to improve both higher and early childhood education systems, build the middle class by increasing the minimum wage and adding more higher paying jobs, and she promised to invest in the country’s infrastructure creating jobs in the process. “If we invest in infrastructure we’re going to put millions of people to work, and we’re going to lay the foundation for new jobs,” she said. Clinton argued that rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure and investing in alternative forms of energy will make the United States the clean energy superpower of the world. A video from the event is below.

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News Source: Omaha World-Herald, KETV, Bloomberg

Hillary Clinton Kicks off “Breaking Down Barriers” Tour in Appalachia

Today, Hillary Clinton began a series of events that she is calling the “Breaking Down Barriers” tour. The goal of the tour is to speak with small groups of voters and get a better understanding of their concerns. During her first event in Ashland, Kentucky, Clinton met with workers at Alma’s Italian Cafe where she outlined her plan to help coal communities. She compared her plan to the “Marshall Plan,” the plan that rebuilt Western Europe following World War II, saying that the three main parts would protect health and pension benefits of miners, research how coal can be a clean part of America’s energy future, and invest in alternative energy. She also spoke about her plans to entice more businesses to keep their manufacturing operations in the United States.

Clinton then traveled to Williamson, West Virginia where she was met by a number of protestors who took issue with recent comments Clinton made about the coal industry. During the event, Clinton apologized for the comments saying that her comments were taken out of context. She said, “What I was saying is that, the way things are going now, we will continue to lose jobs. That’s what I meant to say. I do feel a little bit sad and sorry that I gave folks the reason or the excuse to be so upset with me because that is not what I intended at all.” Clinton visited with miners who have lost their jobs and community leaders who are struggling with unemployed citizens. She vowed to support West Virginia and towns that rely heavily on coal mining for survival even if the state does not support her in the primary or November. Videos from today’s events will be added when/if available.

Meanwhile, fundraisers were being held for Hillary for America across the country. Chelsea Clinton was in Washington, DC where she attended a fundraiser. Also in Washington, DC, Campaign Chair John Podesta attended a fundraiser along with policy advisors Ann O’Leary and Jennifer Klein. In Brookline, Massachusetts, a fundraising event was held at the home of John Reinstein and retired Judge Nancy Gertner. Attending the event was former Attorney General Eric Holder. In Portland, Oregon, Olympic figure skater Michelle Kwan and actress Kathleen Turner were on hand to kickoff a phone bank effort.

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

News Source: ABC News, The Washington Post, Mother Jones, Lexington Herald-Leader, West Virginia Metro News