Latest Releases
Senators Tina Smith, Jerry Moran Push to Lower Cost of Cancer Treatments
WASHINGTON, D.C. [6.15.23] – Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) introduced bipartisan legislation to ensure cancer patients who receive oral medications are not hit with thousands of dollars in unaffordable out-of-pocket costs that health plans routinely cover for patients receiving traditional IV chemotherapy treatments. Their Cancer Drug Parity Act responds to the recent improvements in oral medications for cancer by preventing insurers from charging cancer patients higher copayments for those medications than for chemotherapy medicine delivered intravenously. An estimated 2 million Americans will be are diagnosed with cancer this year. A study on patients prescribed oral cancer medications found that one in eight patients faced copayments of $2,000 or more for their first prescription. “Advancements in oral cancer medications have made life better for cancer patients across the country,” said Sen. Smith. “Oral medications are less intrusive than traditional IV treatments, can be taken at home, and have turned cancer into a manageable chronic disease for many. But while IV treatments are covered by a health plan’s medical benefits – with moderate to minimal copays – oral medications often have high, unaffordable copays. It can add up to thousands of dollars in costs for patients each year and can cause many to delay or forego necessary care to treat their cancer. Our bill brings parity to these two kinds of treatments and lowers costs for those taking oral cancer drugs.” “As the number of orally administered cancer drugs increases each year, patients ought to be able to
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Statement on Supreme Court’s Brackeen Decision
WASHINGTON, D.C. [6.15.23] – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) released the following statement on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Haaland v. Brackeen, which left the federal law governing the placement of Native American children in foster or adoptive homes intact: “Congress passed the Indian Child Welfare Act in 1978 to confront a massive injustice: the forced removal of countless Native American children from their families and their communities. Today, the Supreme Court upheld that law and respected Tribes’ rights to govern themselves. This is a welcome decision, but efforts to undermine Tribal sovereignty will no doubt continue, and I am fiercely committed to defending the law and upholding our responsibilities to Tribal Nations.”
Bipartisan Opioids Legislation U.S. Senator Tina Smith Helped Write Becomes Law
WASHINGTON, D.C. [10/24/18]—U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) helped write the bipartisan opioids legislation that the President signed into law today, which gives Minnesota and the nation the tools to combat the crisis by investing in long-term prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts. Sen. Smith, a member of the Senate Health Committee, said the legislative package includes her measure to help bring mental health professionals into schools and community-based organizations in order to better reach families who need these vital services. “Families in rural areas, small towns and downtowns, and in Indian Country are hurting from the opioid epidemic—I want to make
Sens. Warren, Smith Seek Explanation for HHS Secretary Azar’s Misleading Testimony on President Trump’s Broken Drug Pricing Promises
Washington, DC – United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) today sent their second letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar about his potentially misleading statements during Senate testimony in which he blamed pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and drug distributors for drug manufacturers’ ongoing refusal to meaningfully reduce their prices. On May 30, 2018, President Trump promised that drug companies would “announce voluntary massive drops in prices.” In a June hearing in front of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Senator Warren asked Secretary Azar to explain why drug prices remained high despite President Trump’s assurances
U.S. Sen. Tina Smith Presses Administration to Quickly Change Tax Rules Blocking Cooperatives From Expanding Rural Broadband
WASHINGTON, D.C. [10/31/18]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) urged the Trump Administration to ensure cooperatives don’t lose their tax-exempt status if they receive government grants to expand rural broadband in Minnesota and across the country. Sen. Smith said that the Republican tax law passed last year threatens the tax-exempt status of rural telephone and electric cooperatives in Minnesota and across the country because of a provision meant to tax for-profit companies. In a letter Wednesday, Sen. Smith pushed Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig to use their administrative authority to fix the unintended consequences of the provision, which
Klobuchar, Smith, Nolan Announce Success in Adding Kanabec County to Recent Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Disaster Relief Declaration Following Major Flooding
WASHINGTON- U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, and Congressman Rick Nolan announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has updated its major disaster declaration to include Kanabec County following this summer’s major flooding. The change comes after Klobuchar, Smith, and Nolan sent a letter to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Regional Administrator James Joseph last month urging him to reconsider the denial of FEMA disaster relief funding to Kanabec County and extend the relevant incident period to July 12, 2018, in the wake of flooding in the area. “This disaster relief is greatly needed given the extent of
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