Last month, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioners Noah Phillips and Christine Wilson blocked an investigation into Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) – the pharmaceutical industry’s giant corporate middlemen that result in higher prices across the country. Now we have a chance to fight back against these prescription drug middlemen, but we need your help. 77% of all prescriptions filled nationwide are controlled by three PBMs, all owned by the largest health insurers: Caremark (owned by CVS), OptumRx (owned by United Health), and Express Scripts (owned by Cigna). PBMs decide what pharmacies you can use, which of your medications are covered by insurance, and how much you, the pharmacy, and your insurance company must pay, giving them immense control over drug prices in the United States. Defenders of Big Pharma would tell you PBMs aim to lower drug costs and help patients efficiently access medications. In reality, PBMs work to jack up the price of life-saving drugs like insulin, steal from community pharmacies until they go bankrupt, and turn pharmacy care -- one of the most important (and often only) sources of health care for rural patients -- into a living nightmare. When FTC Chair Lina Khan first pushed to investigate PBMs’ role in sky-rocketing drug prices and illegal monopolistic practices, Commissioners Noah Phillips and Christine Wilson blocked the investigation. Chair Khan can call for another vote, but Commissioners Phillips and Wilson must hear from Americans demanding that they reconsider their vote and allow the FTC to conduct this essential study. Together our voices can be louder than the pharmaceutical industry’s.

This is a significant step to protect our health and our children.

Insulin prices are far too high, and they're impacting working-class families every day. For many people who live with diabetes, the cost of insulin is a matter of life or death. The high cost often leads to lethal rationing, and with this bill, we have the opportunity to save lives across the country. Congress needs to side with President Biden, Senator Warnock, and Joshua Davis—not Big Pharma—and lower the cost of insulin!

New recreation centers have been built all over Denver county but none included a therapy pool that’s mainly used by the disabled and senior community. I was born and raised in Denver and actively over the years have seen this recreation center neglected. The City & County of Denver has held numerous meetings trying to close this center without avail. Each time the community has said that this is important to the community, disabled, seniors and those that must rehabilitate, due to lack of other physical therapies. Again the therapy pool is malfunctioning and the sauna has been closed for weeks. This problem is unexceptionable by any standards and must be addressed.

Riverside Hospital has systematically and consistently failed to provide adequate staffing on all units leading to patients experiencing delayed or missed care, missed activities and interventions, and delays in admissions. Riverside Hospital has an obligation to its staff and community to provide the best care possible, not the most cost-efficient care possible. RN morale is at an all-time low and nurse mental and physical health is in jeopardy as they are not able to provide the care that their patients need and deserve. With the current staffing conditions RNs are “triaging” their responsibilities, potentially leading to serious consequences. The current unsafe staffing conditions will only worsen as our colleagues consider retirement or resignation in order to find better staffing and working conditions with other employers.

Nurses have been validated as healthcare heroes. The nurses worked through the pandemic to ensure that patients throughout the District were properly cared for.  Since 2019, the Mayor has refused to bargain in good faith with the nurses by consistently canceling negotiation sessions, refusing to bring proposals to the table and finally only offering 1% for annual raises, while approving over 2% annual raises for other DC government employees. This is a slap in the face to the nurses who sacrificed the safety of their families to ensure that District residents were properly cared for. The Mayor needs to give the nurses a fair contract that reflects our value to the patients and residents of the District of Columbia.

These American children, and their parents, must be protected AT ANY COST!

Because no parent of a child who has ALREADY been through Open Heart Surgery should have to worry if their child will survive after discharge because insurance will not pay for the medicine and they can not afford THOUSANDS or more for one month of one medicine!

MASKING SAVES LIVES. Join us in asking our schools to follow scientific recommendations about how to protect children, families, and educators in Hamden from COVID-19.

The health and safety of the Essex County Public School students, teachers and staff is of the utmost importance. Essex County Public Schools had to release students early on February 4, 2022, due to a staff shortage. Many teachers and staff members believe the learning environment is unsafe and do not want to put themselves at risk of contracting COVID-19. An Essex High School student was sent to the principal on February 3, 2022, after a teacher discovered a flyer organizing a student walkout. The flyer read, “Covid-19 is real. We lost too many lives," and asked students to walk out for 16 minutes in honor of the 16,412 people who lost their lives due COVID-19 in Virginia. A parent of a special needs student who is nonverbal and wheelchair bound, said she took her daughter out of school because of health and safety concerns. Signing this petition is important because we cannot allow elected officials to put the health and safety of our children and community at-risk. By prematurely ending COVID-19 mitigation strategies and protocols, the school district is unable to provide a safe environment for students to receive a free appropriate public education.

Nobody plans to bury their murdered child – it’s among the worst possible unexpected expenses, yet thousands of Illinois families are paying it. They are depending on your help during some of the most tragic and painful times of their lives. We look forward to working with the Illinois General Assembly to ease some of their pain.

The 1973 Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade made access to safe and legal abortion a constitutional right. Today, that freedom is at risk like never before. In 2021, states introduced 663 abortion restrictions and enacted 108 of them — a record number since 1973. Meanwhile, 80% of Americans want abortion to be legal. We are the majority, and in this unprecedented time where the federal right to abortion may be no more, it is up to state governments to step in and ensure our laws reflect that. Passing a constitutional amendment to protect reproductive rights NOW is one of the most concrete measures we can take before it is too late. That’s why I am calling on the Maryland General Assembly to amend the state constitution to protect personal reproductive liberty and guarantee the right to an abortion. Add your name to show your support!