Backed by Big Pharma, Gianforte Remains Committed to Slashing Montanans’ Access to Health Care
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, April 10, 2020
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press@montanademocrats.org
Backed by Big Pharma, Gianforte Remains Committed to Slashing Montanans’ Access to Health Care
Helena, MT – Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Greg Gianforte continues to dodge questions about his health care plans for Montana, leaving Montanans wondering if his only policy idea is to rip away health coverage from thousands of hard-working folks when they need it most. This week, during two separate public phone calls, Gianforte refused to defend the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion, and he ignored pleas from home health care workers to reconsider his attacks on these critical programs.
And while Gianforte may have trouble being honest with his constituents, his allegiance to his friends in the pharmaceutical industry is clear. Big Pharma has given Gianforte over $20,000 in the last three years — leading up to Gianforte’s vote against the “Strengthening Health Care and Lowering Prescription Drug Costs Act.” In 2017, 39% of Montanans stopped taking a prescription drug as prescribed due to cost.
The Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion – which Gianforte has opposed time and time again – also contain key provisions to limit prescription drug costs. If Medicaid expansion is rolled back, more than 80,000 Montanans would stand to lose their health insurance, and 152,000 Montanans with pre-existing conditions would once again be vulnerable to insurance company discrimination. Pharmaceutical companies have been gouging Montanans for decades – Gianforte should be holding them accountable, not relying on them for campaign contributions.
“Montanans sent Greg Gianforte to Washington D.C. to look out for them, not to do the bidding of multinational pharmaceutical companies. How can Montana families trust Gianforte to protect their healthcare when his political career has been funded by Big Pharma?” said MDP Executive Director Sandi Luckey. “In the face of COVID-19, working families across the country are depending on access to quality, affordable health care. Now more than ever, Montanans need a champion for their healthcare, not a congressman who has sold his vote to the highest bidder.”
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