Over and over, Senator Collins has failed to take action to fight for the policies that Mainers need, opting instead to express her disappointment with an ineffective letter of concern. This week, Maine Democrats will highlight the issues where Collins has refused to back up the words of her letters with action.
Last year, Senator Susan Collins sent a letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar expressing concern about prescription drug prices. In the letter, she wrote that she was “particularly troubled” by recent reports of “shocking” price increases, but failed to mention her own history of voting against legislation that would reduce drug costs.
Senator Collins voted twice against cracking down on so-called “pay-for-delay” agreements, where brand-name drug companies pay generic drug companies to delay production of a drug so they can keep prices higher for longer—forcing Mainers to pay ten times more for their prescriptions. Senator Collins’ own drug pricing legislation was “watered down” to the point that it “doesn’t seem to be doing much anymore,” delivering a “big win for drug makers.” She also repeatedly voted against passing the Affordable Care Act, and has voted a dozen times to repeal or undermine the law, despite the fact that it reduced drug prices for 57 million older Americans, including nearly 20,000 Mainers.
Senator Collins has accepted $1.6 million from big drug and insurance companies while doing nothing to meaningfully combat sky high drug prices. The price of insulin alone has gone up 1,665% on Collins’ watch, leading advocates in Maine to accuse her of “siding with big pharma over constituents in exchange for campaign cash.”
“If Senator Collins were truly concerned about the effects skyrocketing drug prices are having on Mainers, she wouldn’t have consistently voted against legislation to curb drug costs,” said Maine Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Marra. “Sending toothless letters to the Trump administration isn’t the same thing as using your power to actually help Mainers. We need a Senator who isn’t beholden to big pharma.”
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