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.”
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Pushes Bipartisan Legislation to Help Schools Replace Outdated Kitchen Equipment that Prevents them From Serving Most Nutritious Meals
WASHINGTON, D.C. [6/25/19]— U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) introduced bipartisan legislation to help schools in Minnesota and across the country replace inefficient and outdated kitchen equipment that may prevent them from serving students the most nutritious meals possible. The School Food Modernization Act would provide grants, loan guarantees and technical assistance to schools in need of replacing outdated equipment. “Nutritious meals in schools don’t just keep kids from going hungry; they make it so students can focus and develop a love of learning,” said Senator Smith, a member of the Senate Education Committee. “Yet,
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Secures Bipartisan Support for Her Legislation to Ensure Millions of Americans with Diabetes Aren’t Forced Into Dangerous Practice of Rationing Insulin
WASHINGTON, D.C. [06/25/19]—Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith’s (D-Minn.) legislation to hold insulin manufacturers accountable for excessive increases in the price of life-sustaining insulin—announced last week in Minneapolis and set to be introduced later this week in remembrance of Minnesotan Alec Smith—secured bipartisan support thanks to Senator Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) cosponsoring the Emergency Access to Insulin Act. “Thank you to my colleague and neighbor Senator Cramer for supporting my legislation to provide Minnesotans and Americans with the insulin they need to survive, and to put us on a path to bring down the cost of insulin,” said Sen. Smith, a member
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Pushes Education Secretary DeVos to End Delays in Loan Forgiveness for Students who Attended Now-Defunct For-Profit Colleges
WASHINGTON, D.C. [06/19/19]—U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) is calling on U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to quickly process the claims of thousands of defrauded students in Minnesota and across the country seeking to get their federal student loans discharged. Thousands of pending discharge applications from students who attended now-defunct colleges – including more than 2,700 from Minnesota – have languished at the U.S. Department of Education for an average of 882 days. Sen. Smith — along with Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Patty Murray (D-WA), and 19 of their Democratic colleagues — wrote Wednesday to U.S. Education Secretary Betsy
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Continues Fight to Secure Health Committee Hearing on Negative Consequences of Family Separation on Children
WASHINGTON, D.C. [06/24/2019]—U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) is again calling on leaders of the Senate Health Committee—on which she serves—to hold a hearing in order to better understand the negative health effects of the Trump Administration’s disastrous family separation policy and the health and safety conditions for children. Last year, Sen. Smith first pressed for a similar hearing shortly after allegations that at least one facility where children were being housed had forcibly injected already-traumatized children with powerful sedatives. Sen. Smith visited family detention centers herself and renewed her call this spring after reports found that thousands more children had
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