Protecting Patients From Prescription Drug Price Hikes During the Pandemic |
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Making prescription drugs more affordable for everyone is one of my top priorities and a bipartisan goal shared by our fellow lawmakers in Congress. Patients should not face even more financial barriers to receiving the drugs they need to stay healthy, especially during this pandemic, and particularly for those with chronic conditions who are vulnerable to COVID-19. I’m proud to join Congressman Donald McEachin of Virginia and Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey in introducing this bipartisan legislation so we can provide financial relief and promote the health of patients while this pandemic continues.
H.R. 7647, the Preserving Patient Savings on Drug Costs Act, protects patients from increased out-of-pocket prescription drug costs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our bipartisan bill stops insurers from instituting costly copay accumulator programs by delaying the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) 2021 Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameter (NBPP) rule from going into effect until a year after the COVID-19 public health emergency has lifted.
Learn more about the bipartisan Preserving Patient Savings on Drug Costs Act here.
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Supporting Health Centers in Central Illinois and Nationwide |
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Community Health Centers and other health care providers are on the front lines of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s why I joined a near-unanimous and bipartisan group of lawmakers in supporting historic relief for hospitals and health care providers, but more needs to be done. We need to do everything we can to make sure all providers and front line health care workers have all of the resources and support they need to get our nation through this pandemic. I’d like to thank the SIU Centers for Family Medicine and other community health centers around central and southwestern Illinois for the vital work they do protecting public health.
This Congress, I've worked with lawmakers from both parties and supported legislation to increase support for health care centers and providers, protect frontline health care workers like nurses from furloughs, and ensure out-of-work Americans have access to health care coverage:
- Making critical investments in hospitals and health care providers nationwide
- Protecting nurses from being furloughed
- Ensuring out-of-work Americans have access to health care
Learn more about my record expanding access to health care here.
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Constituent Service Spotlight
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Helping Constituents Cut Through Red Tape |
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“Cannot Say enough about how well Rodney Davis and his staff addressed our issue and was immediately trying to come up with a resolution. I've listened to Representative Davis since he was on the radio at lunch time during the farm report and he truly has followed through with being a representative of the people in Downstate Illinois!!!! And we cannot thank him enough for the job he does and the type Politician he has not turned into, I feel he has dedicated his self to helping his district and stayed away from the corruption our state politicians are known to well for…!!!!”
-Shawn, Niantic, IL
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Virtual Roundtable with Local Election Officials |
This week, as part of my position on the U.S. House Committee on Administration, I hosted our first virtual election roundtable in a series titled “Administering Safe Elections During a Pandemic.” I heard from state and local election officials about issues they are seeing and addressing ahead of November and helped foster a discussion with the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), which regularly distributes funding, including additional money Congress provided in the CARES Act.
The roundtable highlighted how local election officials are having to prepare for both a high level of turnout among in-person voters as well as people mailing in their ballots. This is a huge undertaking that is important for lawmakers in Washington to understand. It's clear from many of the concerns raised today that the EASE Act would help officials recruit poll workers, maintain safe polling locations, and secure non-voting equipment. I wish we had examined this issue and heard from more election administrators during official committee hearings, but these virtual roundtables are helping provide a voice for local election officials. Illinois has been utilizing mail-in voting for a number of years, but with increased demand, there will no doubt be challenges in November. I hope these virtual roundtables serve as a resource not only for election officials, but anyone planning to vote this fall.
You can watch our discussion here.
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Your Tax Dollars Coming Back to Central and Southwestern Illinois |
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In recent days, our office has announced grant funding for many federal programs designed to combat the opioid crisis, assist local fire departments, expand access to bus transit services, help disadvantaged college students, and more. This is your tax dollars at work coming back in to our communities. Some of the grant funding includes:
For future grant announcements, periodically check our website and social media pages.
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What My Catholic Faith Means to Me |
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Last month, I spoke with EWTN Correspondent Erik Rosales on what my Catholic faith means to me and the role it played during a life-changing moment: when a gunman opened fire at practice for the annual Congressional Baseball Game.
You can watch my discussion with EWTN here.
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