Making Government Work for People
Capping Prescription Drug Costs
Nearly every week, I hear from our elderly neighbors about the astronomical rise of healthcare costs and how they can’t keep up. No one should have to choose between buying groceries, paying for utility or other bills, or buying their life saving medications. Prescription drugs can’t work if patients can’t afford to access them!
I am proud to have sponsored a bill signed into law in 2021 that capped the out-of-pocket cost of insulin to $40 for a 30-day supply. No one should have to decide between buying groceries, paying rent or paying for their life saving medications.
This year, my bill to cap insulin delivery and glucose testing supplies to $25 per 30-day supply passed the Senate for the second year in a row. I am also sponsoring a bill to cap inhalers, and nebulizers $25 for a 30-day supply to further help RI residents that are still struggling to afford these lifesaving supplies.
Tax Fairness and Equity
The gap between the rich and poor continues to widen due to decades of policies that have helped the rich get richer. We can’t keep balancing budgets by cutting vital social service programs that our most vulnerable depend upon, especially in the midst of a pandemic.
That’s why I’m proud to be the lead sponsor of a bill that creating a “Millionaire Tax”. This legislation creates a marginal rate increase of 3% on income above $1,000,000, ensuring the wealthiest Rhode Islanders contribute their fair share. This legislation would impact less than 1% of filers but is estimated to raise $126 million in new revenue for our state that would be used to fund education, early childhood ed and childcare, road and bridge infrastructure, and public transportation. I am thankful to be a part of a broad coalition of partners who comprise Revenue for Rhode Islanders that support this legislation.
Lifting Children and Families Out of Deep Poverty
In 2021 I sponsored a bill that was included in the budget that gave Rhode Island Works families the first increase in in 30 years. Although I am pleased that the bill received unanimous bi-partisan support from the Senate and was passed into state law, due to inflation this benefit is now just a mere 35% of the federal poverty level. 10,000 Rhode Islanders, including 7,200 children, are living in deep poverty. We must do better!
By increasing the RI Works benefit rate, we can help lift children and families out of deep poverty and create better outcomes for some of our most vulnerable Rhode Islanders. I am proud to serve as the lead Senate sponsor of this legislation for the past four years, working with the Raising RI Coalition: a group of community, healthcare, social service, religious, and advocacy organizations that serve low-income families and are working to ensure these families can meet their very basic needs.