Letter to the Editor from David Wagenhauser, NY-24 Congressional District candidate:
Rep. Claudia Tenney was recently quoted defending big corporations - specifically those drug companies affected by the Medicare $35 insulin price cap.
It’s as if Tenney feels sorry for big pharma. Uber-profitable big pharma that gets billions in research and taxpayer funding from NIH. Big pharma has had a monopoly on drugs for 20 years and the ability to charge whatever it wants. Big pharma that charges Americans significantly more than any other country. - for the same drugs.
There are about 1.5 million New Yorkers with diabetes. While insulin costs about $10 to manufacture, prices skyrocketed to about $400/month. It was little surprise that 1 in 4 diabetics could not afford their insulin. Some rationed. Sadly, some died.
So why does Tenney consistently back big pharma and not our neighbors? Is it the money she receives from Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Gilead, etc.? In fact, Tenney receives over 70% of her campaign’s millions from big corporations and PACS. In return, she’s voted against efforts to reduce gas prices and gouging by big oil, against drug price competition for Medicare, against the ACA and protections for preexisting conditions, and she continues to push tax laws that benefit big corps and billionaires over hard-working Americans.
Diabetes and other diseases have no political affiliation – there’s no Red vs. Blue. We must work to make WNY more affordable for our families and neighbors. Vote after vote, Rep. Tenney shows us who she works for.
