Prescription Drugs

• Prescription Drug Insurance & Discount Programs for Seniors in New York State

  December 06, 2022:   Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage (EPIC) EPIC Helpline: 800-332-3742 (TTY 800-290-9138) https://www.health.ny.gov/health_care/epic/ EPIC is a NYS program for older adults 65 and above who need help paying for prescription ...Read more >

• Senate Democrats Working to Pass Legislation to Lower Drug Prices in July

  July 04, 2022: The Washington Post and other media outlets reported Thursday that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (NY) and Senator Joe Manchin (WV) have been negotiating a plan to lower drug prices, including requiring Medicare ...Read more >

• Hearing Exposes Greed of Drug Corporation AbbVie

  May 24, 2021: According to a study released on May 18 by the U.S. House Oversight and Reform Committee, the pharmaceutical corporation AbbVie has raised prices 470% in the United States for its widely used drugs Humira and Imbruvica over the past two decades. The ...Read more >

• KHN: As Drug Prices Keep Rising, State Lawmakers Propose Tough New Bills to Curb Them

  February 16, 2021: Fed up with a lack of federal action to lower prescription drug costs, state legislators around the country are pushing bills to penalize drugmakers for unjustified price hikes and to cap payment at much-lower Canadian levels. These bills, sponsor...Read more >

• KHN: Seniors Face Crushing Drug Costs as Congress Stalls on Capping Medicare Out-Of-Pockets

  January 07, 2021: Sharon Clark is able to get her life-sustaining cancer drug, Pomalyst — priced at more than $18,000 for a 28-day supply — only because of the generosity of patient assistance foundations. Clark, 57, a former insurance agent who lives in Bixby,...Read more >

• Congressman Brindisi and Congresswoman Rice’s Wrong Stance on USMCA (NAFTA 2) Trade Agreement

  November 12, 2019: A letter from 11 Democrats, including two from New York, expresses support for a drug patent provision in the NAFTA update that most of their caucus opposes. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had been wavering in recent weeks, repeatedly stating that he...Read more >

• WHAT WOULD REAL SOLUTIONS TO LOWER DRUG PRICES NOW LOOK LIKE?

  September 16, 2019: WHAT WOULD REAL SOLUTIONS TO LOWER DRUG PRICES NOW LOOK LIKE? www.lowerdrugpricesnow.org   The Lower Drug Prices Now coalition is fighting for transformative, bold reforms that will ensure everyone--no matter where they live, what they lo...Read more >

• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About the Current Debate on Driving down the Cost of Prescription Drugs

  April 30, 2019:   How much can government negotiations drive down the cost of prescription drugs for patients? In other countries where the government negotiates directly for prescription drugs, costs are significantly lower for the same drugs than in the...Read more >

• Productive Meeting Held with Representative Peter King

  February 12, 2017: On Friday February 10, 2017 NYSARA President Barry Kaufmann and Long Island Chapter of NYSARA President Stanley Bergman met with Congressman Peter King. (R/CD #2) NYSARA's positions on the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, Block granting or annualiz...Read more >

• Activism by Seniors, including NYSARA, Contributes to the “Death” of the TPP

  November 23, 2016: The news that the White House and Republican congressional leaders have given up on passing the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is welcome. That the TPP would be defeated by Congress if brought to a vote signals that Trojan-horse “trade” agreemen...Read more >