Blog

• Alliance Fighting for Lower Drug Prices as Debate Heats up in Congress

  September 27, 2021: Alliance members in key congressional districts continued their efforts this week to persuade four moderate House Democrats who voted in Committee against allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices. House members Stephanie Murphy (FL), Scott...Read more >

• Democrats Look to Wealthiest Americans, Corporations to Pay for Reconciliation Bill

  September 22, 2021: House Democrats are crafting a deal to implement President Biden’s Build Back Better plan while keeping his promise that the revenue to pay for it will come only from Americans who earn more than $400,000 a year. The funding would address initiativ...Read more >

• Senate Democrats Introduce New Voting Rights Bill

  September 22, 2021: Within days of Texas enacting a new voting restrictions law, Senate Democrats introduced the Freedom to Vote Act. The bill would make Election Day a federal holiday, establish same-day voter registration nationwide, set federal standards on mail-in v...Read more >

• Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Proposal Blocked in Committee

  September 22, 2021: Democratic Reps. Scott Peters (CA), Kathleen Rice (NY) and Kurt Schrader (OR) cast the deciding votes against allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices Wednesday. The 29-29 tie vote in the House Energy and Commerce Committee came after a 3-day...Read more >

• KHN: Over Half of States Have Rolled Back Public Health Powers in Pandemic

  September 16, 2021: Republican legislators in more than half of U.S. states, spurred on by voters angry about lockdowns and mask mandates, are taking away the powers state and local officials use to protect the public against infectious diseases. People celebrate...Read more >

• Many Nursing Home Residents Suffer through Hurricane Ida, Pandemic in Horrid Conditions

  September 13, 2021: The Louisiana Department of Health has revoked the licenses of seven nursing homes that sent residents to a warehouse to shelter during Hurricane Ida, renewing concerns over the safety of long term care facilities. Residents of the Louisiana nursi...Read more >

• Apple, Bose and Others Pump Up the Volume on Hearing Aid Options, Filling Void Left by FDA

  August 31, 2021: Spurred by decades of complaints about the high cost of hearing aids, Congress passed a law in 2017 to allow over-the-counter sales, with hopes it would boost competition and lower prices. Four years later, federal regulators have yet to issue...Read more >

• Older Workers Struggling to Stay in Workforce

  August 30, 2021: As Americans work longer into their lives due to the extremely high cost of retirement, workers continue to face age discrimination. While some economists posit that COVID is responsible for many Americans retiring against their wishes and earlier th...Read more >

• House Passes the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act

  August 30, 2021: On Tuesday, the House passed the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (H.R. 4) with a 219-to-212 vote. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL) introduced the bill earlier this month and more than 190 members signed on as co-sponsors. The bill reinstates key...Read more >

• Nabisco Workers Go On Strike in Five States to Fight Offshoring, Preserve Pension Benefits

  August 30, 2021: Nabisco employees, represented by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM) are on strike to protest offshoring of jobs to Mexico as well as requiring 10-hour workdays without overtime pay. Workers are a...Read more >