Latest news with #Damoose
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Drug affordability legislation gets second pass through Michigan Senate
Sen. Darrin Camilleri (D-Trenton), lead sponsor of a bill package that would create a Prescription Drug Affordability Board, speaking in support of the original legislation in 2023. | Kyle Davidson For the second time, Michigan Senate Democrats have pushed forward legislation they say will bring to heel 'skyrocketing' prescription drug costs in the state. On Thursday, the state Senate passed bills that would create a Prescription Drug Affordability Board, or PDAB, which would have the authority to set upper payment limits on drugs sold in Michigan. 'This board is a simple concept and a great idea,' Sen. Darrin Camilleri (D-Brownstown Township), sponsor of one of the bills, said. 'It allows for a public body of officials appointed by the governor, including folks who have no connection to the pharmaceutical industry whatsoever, who would then review some of these exorbitant price increases that we see from some companies as they are attempting to gouge the American consumer. They will hold them accountable. It will be a public and transparent process, and they will find ways to lower those costs for our residents.' Republican opposition, however, centered on concerns of replacing a free market system with a 'government-controlled collectivist system,' as Sen. Thomas Albert (R-Lowell) referred to it. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'Why do we have such a disproportionate amount of innovation and pharmaceuticals in the United States of America as opposed to the rest of the globe?' he asked. 'It's because the producers are free to innovate and they are free to have the market regulate the supply and the demand of the product. If you eliminate that, there's no incentive for innovation or entrepreneurship. It goes away. The competition is destroyed. This does not benefit people. This hurts people.' The package, consisting of Senate Bills 3, 4 and 5, passed with a bare majority of 20 votes, with Sen. John DaMoose (R-Harbor Springs) the lone Republican to join the 19 Democrats in approval. The legislation now moves to the GOP-controlled House, where its future is less assured. This is the second time Democrats have passed the bills through the Senate, with the upper chamber previously approving the legislation in October 2023, only to see it ultimately die without a vote in the House Insurance and Financial Services Committee. At the time, the House was controlled by Democrats, but with Republicans now in the majority there, passage will be even more difficult. One ray of hope for supporters came from Damoose, who voted against the plan when it originally passed, but on Thursday said further investigation produced a change of heart on his part. 'Last term I was persuaded by the idea that the market should determine the cost of drugs,' Damoose said. 'But the more I learned, the more apparent it became that calling the prescription drug market a free market is a total farce. We are so far from being a free market when it comes to pharmaceuticals, it's unbelievable.' Damoose noted the hundreds of billions of dollars invested by the federal government in developing many of the most popular and useful drugs, and yet U.S. taxpayers in many cases did not have affordable access to those drugs. 'It's unconscionable in my mind that those within the nation that supported the development of production of the most incredible body of medical advancement the world has ever seen would pay more than anyone else to access the benefits of those very prescription drugs,' Damoose said. The pharmaceutical industry, however, sees the situation differently, with trade group PhRMA saying the proposed board would have 'long-term, harmful effects' on both the development of livesaving drugs and patients' ability to access them. 'Prescription Drug Affordability Boards are a disaster for patients,' said Stami Turk, director of public affairs at PhRMA. 'These bills put the government between patients and their doctors. Patients deserve access to the medicine their doctors prescribe – not roadblocks from Lansing. The House has the chance to do the right thing and to get the government out from in between patients and their physicians.' Doctors, meanwhile, have welcomed the proposal, with support from the Michigan State Medical Society and the Committee to Protect Health Care. Dr. Rob Davidson, is an emergency room physician in west Michigan and executive director of the committee. 'Doctors are encouraged to see this legislation to help our patients better afford their prescription drugs, and to help finally hold Big Pharma accountable, move forward in the legislative process,' Davidson said. 'We look forward to swift passage of these bills in both the Senate and House in Michigan so that our patients here can also benefit from upper payment limits and be able to take their medications as doctors like us prescribe.'
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
UP GOP lawmaker: Cash aid program is not 'just a flat out government handout'
A cash-assistance program for expectant moms and babies, which first began in Flint more than a year ago, is growing its reach to hundreds more families across Michigan. Rx Kids, led by Flint pediatrician Dr. Mona Hanna, began taking applications in Kalamazoo last week and will kick off in the eastern Upper Peninsula next month. So far, the Flint program has distributed more than $6 million to families — no strings attached. The program is among dozens across the country experimenting with providing direct cash payments to people with the greatest need. Bipartisan lawmakers from regions where the Rx Kids is slated to expand see promise in the program but say they remain alert, watching for how families benefit from getting cash in hand, to use as they see fit. The premise is simple but the goal is ambitious: give expectant moms cash during a financially rocky time to eliminate infant poverty and boost economic stability. The program gives families $1,500 mid-pregnancy and then $500 a month up to a year of the infant's life. Program participants in Flint reported spending the money on basics like baby supplies and food, and feeling more financially secure. "We are improving the family's ability to keep a roof over their head, food on their table and care for their children. And Rx Kids is helping our families succeed at, really, the hardest job in the world, and that is being a parent," Hanna said during a Friday press conference announcing the expansion of the program to the eastern Upper Peninsula. Rx Kids has so far raised about $100 million from public and private funders. Programs don't launch in communities without at least two years of funding. Last year, Rx Kids received $20 million from the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to expand beyond Flint, from the southwest side of the state to its northernmost regions. That's important, said Republican state Sen. John Damoose, who represents part of the UP and the northern Lower Peninsula: "A lot of times people forget the rural poor." "There's a lot of need, certainly, in our big cities but there's also a lot of support systems that often don't exist in areas like ours and I can tell you, our people up here are suffering because of inflation, because of lack of services. They need some help," Damoose, whose district includes parts of Mackinac and Chippewa counties, said last month. In Chippewa County — home to Michigan's oldest city, Sault Ste. Marie, and the Soo Locks — roughly 29% of children under 5 years old live below poverty. It's one of the counties in the eastern Upper Peninsula where Rx Kids is slated to expand. The other counties are Luce, Mackinac, Alger and Schoolcraft. High housing costs, a seasonal economy, a dearth of health care and miles between neighbors and services can make life in the Upper Peninsula challenging and unaffordable, Damoose said. The UP program is estimated to cover about 600 babies a year. Pregnant moms and babies born after March 1 will be eligible for $1,500 mid-pregnancy and $500 a month for the first six months of the child's life. There are no income requirements. It's a shorter time period compared with Flint because of how much funding the program was able to raise, Hanna said. More: Moms are getting cash each month to ease financial troubles. Does it work? "I've had people who came up to me and said, 'Wait a second, you're a Republican and you're supporting a cash giveaway to parents.' Well, of course I am. This is a great idea," Damoose said during Friday's announcement. Damoose has told the Free Press that he sees it as an innovative way to get help to people without bureaucratic hurdles. He's supportive of the program but will be watching for what the results bear out and how it runs. "If we can look back and realize ... in the city of Sault Ste. Marie, we've helped out this number of mothers and children and young families, and it seems to be appropriate, then let's grow it a little bit," he said last month. "If we find that we're just pouring money down a black hole, let's pull it back or revise the program a little bit." State Sen. Ed McBroom, R-Vulcan, said he likes the program because it supports families but thinks it should have income restrictions to "keep the costs in check" and ensure it runs for a long time. He also said support like this can encourage people to have more children and grow the state's population. Michigan's Upper Peninsula has seen population loss back-to-back in the past two decades, according to research from the Michigan Technological University. "If a couple is considering whether or not to have children and the financial hardship is part of that calculation, this program can offset those concerns and give people hope that they can indeed afford to have more children and raise a family," McBroom said. In Kalamazoo, where nearly a third of kids under 5 years old live below poverty, applications for Rx Kids opened Feb. 12 for expectant moms and babies born on or after Feb. 1. Just like in Flint, Kalamazoo's version of the program will offer $1,500 mid-pregnancy and then $500 the first 12 months of the infant's life. As as Friday, the Kalamazoo program had received more than 200 applications. "There's just so many people living on the margins and Kalamazoo is resource rich, but sometimes people don't understand how to navigate all the different assistance programs," said Democratic state Rep. Julie Rogers, whose district includes the city of Kalamazoo. More: Program providing $7,500 for Flint moms and babies expected to expand across Michigan Rogers pointed to a significant ALICE population in Kalamazoo. The United Way's ALICE measure — which stands for asset limited, income constrained, employed — considers households earning above the federal poverty level but still struggling to afford the basics. In Kalamazoo County, 39% of households fell below the ALICE threshold. "We are trusting mothers, we are trusting families to decide what is best for them and their family and situation," Rogers said. "So, instead of the government being prescriptive and telling people how to spend the money, we're giving them the cash assistance with pretty much a blank slate of, they can choose and decide." To measure success, bipartisan lawmakers are watching for a range of outcomes, from increased birth rates and school enrollment to improvements in child development and health. Rogers said she's "cautiously optimistic" about the Rx Kids program as a pilot, and wants to see the data from participating communities. Damoose, Rogers and state Sen. John Cherry, D-Flint, said they would consider more public dollars to go toward the program in the future. Damoose said Rx Kids doesn't necessarily fit into a "Republican orthodoxy," since it involves government giving cash to people in need, but he supports the effort because he is "very pro-family." "I can have a real role in helping to convince Republican lawmakers to at least understand the benefits and how it fits within our sort of preconceived notions, if you will. Because I've got to dispel the idea that this is just a flat out government handout," Damoose said. McBroom said there's support from his Republican colleagues to strengthen families, but questions remain on the long term sustainability. "Where we put our money shows some of our values as a society. It shows what things we need to incentivize. Sometimes we're incentivizing particular behaviors and actions. In this case, I see us believing that we need as a society to increase children. We need to increase population. And so, I think it's valuable for us to put our money towards that endeavor," he said. Back in Flint where Rx Kids first began, more than 1,400 families have so far enrolled in the program. Cherry said starting in the city which he represents, Flint, was a good call because of its high concentration of poverty, but it shouldn't stop there. "The goal is not for it to end at Flint," he said. "The goal is: we want to make sure that we're helping all these mothers and babies." Hanna said programs in Wayne County and Oakland County communities will likely go live later this year. City of Kalamazoo: Applications opened Feb. 12 for expectant moms and babies born on or after Feb. 1. People can sign up while pregnant or until a baby is six months old. The Kalamazoo program will offer $1,500 mid-pregnancy and then $500 the first year of the infant's life. Eastern Upper Peninsula (Chippewa, Alger, Schoolcraft, Luce and Mackinac Counties): Expectant moms or babies born on or after March 1 are eligible. Applications will open March 3. Expectant moms can get $1,500 mid-pregnancy and $500 for the first 6 months of the infant's life. Expectant mothers must live in the areas where the program is running. To learn more, go to This story was produced as part of a series for the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism's 2024 Data Fellowship. Contact Nushrat Rahman: nrahman@ Follow her on X: @NushratR. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan lawmakers see promise in aid program. Where it's expanding.
