FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, August 30, 2023
MEDIA CONTACT:
Bethany Khan: bkhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
Culinary Union applauds the Biden/Harris Administration for lowering prescription drug costs, will continue to lead effort to protect Nevadans -
Las Vegas, NV – The Culinary Union applauds the Biden/Harris Administration for lowering health care and prescription drug costs for working families and was proud to have the Culinary Health Fund join the announcement on August 29, 2023 via Zoom. Culinary Union members, through the Culinary Health Fund, collectively are among the largest health care consumers in Nevada the Culinary Union has for decades advocated to improve health care and protect all Nevadans.
In Nevada, the Culinary Union and the Culinary Health Fund has led the nation for decades on health care policy regarding prescription drug access, affordability, transparency, and reforms. The Culinary Health Fund was an early catalyst and litigant against PhRMA and drug manufacturers believed to be price-setting generic drugs and artificially increasing the costs of generics to Nevadans. These lawsuits are now in several Attorney General state programs. The Culinary Union is hopeful that recent lawsuits being launched by drugmakers will not succeed in derailing the Medicare Drug Pricing program and cause delays for lowering prescription drug costs (which will begin in 2026).
“Congratulations to the Biden/Harris Administration on reaching this historic prescription drug pricing milestone,” said Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer for the Culinary Union. “For decades, major pharmaceutical corporations have blocked Medicare from negotiating with drug companies directly — all while bringing in record-breaking profits off of the backs of the American people. Under President Biden and Vice President Harris’ leadership, those days are ending. Millions of Americans will be able to benefit from the negotiated drug prices and will no longer have to choose between paying their rent or putting food on the table. The Culinary Union will continue the fight for prescription drug price reform in Nevada and nationally with the support and help of our international union, UNITE HERE.”
For the first time in our country’s history, Medicare is able to negotiate the prices of prescription drugs thanks to a critical provision from the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law by President Biden one year ago. With the announcement that Medicare now has the ability to negotiate prices of critical prescription drugs for managing diabetes, reducing the risk of a stroke, and protecting the heart - these lifesaving benefits for working families are much celebrated. Over the next four years, Medicare will negotiate prices for up to 60 drugs covered under Medicare Part D and Part B, and up to an additional 20 drugs every year after that.
There are 10 prescription drugs, that working families depend on, whose prices will be negotiated down thanks to the Biden/Harris Administration:
*Eliquis (blood clots)
*Jardiance (Type 2 diabetes)
*Xarelto (blood clots)
*Farxiga (Type 2 diabetes)
*Entresto (heart failure)
*Stelara (psoriasis)
*Imbruvica (blood cancers)
*Fiasp (diabetes)
*Januvia (Type 2 diabetes)
*Enbrel (arthritis)
Culinary Union members, through the Culinary Health Fund, collectively are among the largest health care consumers in Nevada. The Culinary Health Fund is a multi-employer trust fund sponsored by a joint board of labor and management trustees from the Culinary Union, the Bartenders Unions, and Las Vegas-area employers. It provides health insurance coverage for over 145,000 Nevadans, the Culinary and Bartenders Unions members and their dependents. Culinary Union and the Culinary Health Fund are leaders in the health care policy space in Nevada and continues advocating for strengthening patient protections, lowering health care costs, and increasing transparency.
Culinary Union will diligently work in Nevada to address issues the manufacturers and Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) have to avoid delays for the 3,000 prescriptions the three different Culinary FREE Pharmacies fill each day. The Culinary Union’s Health Fund will also begin to assess the impact of the Medicare Drug Pricing program on 145,000 Culinary Health Fund participants (Culinary Union members and their families), as well as on the three busiest pharmacies in Nevada - Culinary FREE Pharmacy #1 (Culinary Town Square on Las Vegas Boulevard), Culinary FREE Pharmacy #2 (Culinary Health Center - Nellis), and Culinary FREE Pharmacy #3 (Culinary Health Center - Durango).
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ABOUT CULINARY UNION:
Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165, Nevada affiliates of UxNITE HERE, represent 60,000 workers in Las Vegas and Reno, including at most of the casino resorts on the Las Vegas Strip and in Downtown Las Vegas. UNITE HERE represents 300,000 workers in gaming, hotel, and food service industries in North America.
The Culinary Union, through the Culinary Health Fund, is one of the largest healthcare consumers in the state. The Culinary Health Fund is sponsored by the Culinary Union and Las Vegas-area employers. It provides health insurance coverage for over 145,000 Nevadans, the Culinary Union’s members and their dependents.
The Culinary Union is Nevada’s largest Latinx/Black/AAPI/immigrant organization with members who come from 178 countries and speak over 40 different languages. We are proud to have helped over 18,000 immigrants become American citizens and new voters since 2001 through our affiliate, The Citizenship Project.
The Culinary Union has a diverse membership which is 55% women and 45% immigrants. The demographics of Culinary Union members are approximately: 54% Latinx, 18% white, 15% Asian, 12% Black, and less than 1% Indigenous Peoples.
Culinary Union members work as: Guest room attendants, cocktail and food servers, porters, bellmen, cooks, bartenders, laundry and kitchen workers. The Culinary Union has been fighting and winning for working families in Nevada for 88 years.
CulinaryUnion226.org / @Culinary226
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