Health Care

Today, California Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 17 into law, a groundbreaking measure to increase transparency and accountability for the prescription drug industry. We celebrate the new law—passed with support and hard work from CALPIRG—as a landmark victory for consumers, not just in California, but nationwide.

The latest version of health care legislation before the U.S. Senate remains very dangerous for American consumers, and we urge a “no” vote.

American consumers can breathe a sigh of relief today. The legislation that was narrowly defeated in the US Senate last night threatened to spark chaos in health insurance markets, raise costs, degrade quality of care, weaken protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and cause millions of Americans to lose health coverage.

Statement by Jesse Ellis O’Brien, TexPIRG Health Care Advocate, on public release of the “Better Care Reconciliation Act.” 

This morning, health insurance giant Anthem dropped its troubled bid to take over one of its top competitors, Cigna. A February district court decision to block the proposed merger on anti-trust grounds was recently upheld by the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, but with Anthem’s decision today, this anti-competitive takeover bid is finally laid to rest. This development comes after months of work by TexPIRG and a broad coalition of consumer and health care groups, urging close scrutiny of the merger from state and federal regulators and raising questions and concerns about the potential impact on consumers.

The high cost of prescription drugs has been a perennial concern for Texas consumers. Rising prescription drug costs burden all Texans through rising health insurance premiums, rising costs for businesses, and a growing burden on state and federal budgets. In recent years, a new crop of life-changing yet extraordinarily expensive specialty drugs have come on the market, bringing new urgency to the issue. 

The high cost of prescription drugs has been a perennial concern for Texas consumers. Rising prescription drug costs burden all Texans through rising health insurance premiums, rising costs for businesses, and a growing burden on state and federal budgets. In recent years, a new crop of life-changing yet extraordinarily expensive specialty drugs have come on the market, bringing new urgency to the issue.