[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 187 (Monday, November 13, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H5720-H5724]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NATIONAL DIABETES MONTH
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 9, 2023, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Jackson) is
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
General Leave
Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous materials on the subject of this Special Order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Illinois?
There was no objection.
Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor that I
rise today to coanchor this CBC Special Order hour. I thank my
distinguished colleague, Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of
Florida.
For the next 60 minutes we have a chance to speak directly to the
American people on issues of great importance to the Congressional
Black Caucus, Congress, the constituents we represent, and all
Americans.
Our Special Order hour today will focus on a very urgent and pressing
issue for our community, and that is the recognition of November as
National Diabetes Month.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Brown), my
colleague from the city of Cleveland.
Ms. BROWN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Jackson and Congresswoman
Cherfilus-McCormick. I thank our CBC colleagues for speaking tonight on
this important topic and for the incredible work they do on so many
issues impacting our communities.
National Diabetes Month is a call to action. It is a call to action
to invest in our people, invest in our neighborhoods, and invest in
public health and medical research. It is a call to take the simple and
direct actions that are often right in front of us.
Just a few weeks ago, President Biden declared November to be
National Diabetes Month.
While diabetes is truly a widespread problem, it is also a disease
that shows some of the deeper sickness of America's history. Roughly
one in eight Black Americans has diabetes, and nearly 40 percent of the
population that doesn't have diabetes is already prediabetic. It is not
just an older person's disease.
{time} 2045
In the last two decades, the prevalence of diabetes among people
under 20 who are Black and Hispanic Americans has increased by 95
percent.
Mr. Speaker, when you add it all up, Black Americans are 60 percent
more likely than White Americans to have diabetes.
In Cuyahoga County, which I represent, the Black diabetes rate is 25
percent. For Whites, it is 7 percent. When the CDC released the Census
tract data, it showed there were neighborhoods in Cleveland where the
diabetes rate was nearly 40 percent.
We aren't just more likely to have this disease; it is also hitting
Black people much harder. Nationwide, we are two-and-one-half times
more likely to be hospitalized by diabetes than White Americans, and we
are twice as likely to die from diabetes.
There is a lot that is broken here, and it doesn't have to be this
way. Three years ago, as a member of the Cuyahoga County Council, I
helped lead the effort to pass a resolution declaring racism as a
public health crisis, and diabetes is one of the indicators we pointed
to. It has so many systemic and structural factors: the legacies of Jim
Crow and slavery, poverty and a lack of opportunity, denied access to
healthcare, and a lack of doctors and nurses from our community who can
hear us and listen to us. There are so
[[Page H5721]]
many different factors all coming together to produce a disparate
impact.
In so many ways, this is the same story we see repeated with Black
maternal health and other racial health disparities.
Unfortunately, with diabetes rates this high, it is having a cascade
effect on our overall well-being because diabetes is expensive,
chronic, and potentially deadly.
We just saw this with the pandemic. Four in 10 adults who died from
COVID-19 also had diabetes.
Nonetheless, step one is identifying the problem, and that is why we
are here this evening. Step two is action. We have real progress to
celebrate thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, which established a
$35 per month cap on insulin costs for those on Medicare. In response
to the IRA, Eli Lilly and other pharmaceutical companies also announced
price caps and price reductions for people with non-Medicare insurance.
Not a single Republican in either Chamber voted for the Inflation
Reduction Act. Nevertheless, Democrats in Congress and the Biden-Harris
administration stepped forward to deliver anyway.
Just about every week, there is another effort by House Republicans
to repeal some part of it, but the IRA is here to stay. Black Americans
are benefiting from this law. The IRA is lowering healthcare costs for
seniors across the country and saving many of our constituents hundreds
of dollars a year.
While the data around diabetes is alarming, the Inflation Reduction
Act shows that we don't have to accept the unacceptable. We have a lot
more work to do to address diabetes and public health disparities more
broadly. The stark disparities with diabetes were centuries in the
making. We can't change that past, but we can build a better future.
We need to make healthcare more affordable, from drugs and treatment
to coverage. We also need to ensure that healthcare providers look like
America and look like the communities they serve. We need to help train
the next generation of Black medical professionals. We need to invest
in SNAP and WIC so people can afford healthy food. We need to invest in
and fully fund NIH and CDC efforts to study diabetes and treat diabetes
so we can improve care.
The budget fight we have been fighting for the past 6 months shows
where each party is aligned and whose side they are on. If we cut
funding for SNAP, push more people off Medicaid, continue to cut
investments in public health, and forbid every Federal agency from even
using the words ``equity, diversity, and inclusion,'' then we know
exactly what will happen and who will suffer.
The stakes are clear, and my CBC colleagues and I are going to keep
fighting for our constituents.
Mr. Speaker, let's fight diabetes and help every American live a
healthy life.
Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank our distinguished
colleague, Congresswoman Shontel Brown from Ohio's 11th Congressional
District, for her leadership within the Congressional Black Caucus and
for highlighting and focusing our attention and, indeed, the Nation's
attention on this critical issue of diabetes.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne).
Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentleman from Illinois and
the gentlewoman from Florida for the opportunity to speak. I absolutely
thank my colleague from the great State of Ohio for bringing this issue
to the forefront and having a press conference this afternoon to
discuss this dreaded disease.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the problem of diabetes in Black
communities nationwide. It is an honor to do it during National
Diabetes Awareness Month.
As a diabetic, daily life is a constant challenge. I will have to get
up at 4 clock tomorrow morning to go to dialysis, a treatment that I
need three times a week to survive. That means I risk exposure to the
coronavirus or any other ailment when I receive treatments in rooms
full of other patients. It is a problem that many of America's 37
million diabetics face every day, and that figure includes 5 million
Black Americans with diabetes.
In addition, almost 80 million Americans could develop diabetes due
to poor diet and health or family history of diabetes. That is one
reason that diabetes is the most expensive chronic health condition in
our Nation.
These health issues are even worse for Black Americans. We are 60
percent more likely to develop diabetes than our White counterparts,
and we are twice as likely to die from it than our White counterparts.
Right now, one in every five Black Americans over the age of 20 has
diagnosed or undiagnosed diabetes, and the prevalence of type 2
diabetes for Black and Hispanic youth has doubled since 2001.
The risks are so high that Black Americans are less likely to donate
a kidney because they fear future health issues. That is why Black
Americans are twice as likely to receive a kidney transplant from a
deceased donor than a live one. This can lead to health issues that do
not happen to patients who receive a kidney from a living donor.
The more prominent issue is the price of insulin in America. The
monthly average cost of insulin is almost $650 per month. That is 10
times higher than the price in other countries. Nevertheless, there is
hope. There is a $35 cap on insulin in the Inflation Reduction Act for
Medicare beneficiaries. It helps our seniors save money on this
lifesaving medication, and they do not have to make the choice between
food or insulin every month.
Nonetheless, we need to do more. We need to pass bills like the
Affordable Insulin Now Act. This bill would cap out-of-pocket costs for
insulin to the same $35 for all Americans.
President Biden is working to make that $35 insulin price cap
permanent for all Americans in other legislation, as well. If we can
cap insulin payments, then we can help millions of Black Americans
afford this critical medication.
That is why this Special Order hour is so important. It brings
awareness to the fact that minorities are more likely to face diabetes
and other kidney-related issues.
In addition, public talks like today's event remind people that
diabetes is still a serious medical issue. When we increase awareness,
we increase funding for new treatments and cures. Eventually, we will
find the new treatments that will make it safer for diabetics.
Mr. Speaker, I cannot wait for those new treatments to happen. That
will be the day when I can walk out of the dialysis treatment clinic
for the last time.
Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank the honorable
Congressman Payne from the great State of New Jersey for his remarks.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Horsford), who
is the honorable chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Mr. HORSFORD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I thank both Congressman Jackson and Congresswoman
Cherfilus-McCormick for their leadership and for co-chairing and co-
anchoring tonight's Special Order hour for the Congressional Black
Caucus.
To the previous speaker and my classmate, Representative Donald
Payne, I am grateful for his tremendous leadership and personal lived
experience on this very important topic.
I am grateful for so many of the other members of the CBC who have
spoken on the importance of recognizing November as National Diabetes
Awareness Month and have highlighted the disparate impact that diabetes
has on the Black community.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Black
Americans are 60 percent more likely than White Americans to be
diagnosed with diabetes by a physician. Additionally, the health
outcomes of Black Americans diagnosed with diabetes are worse than the
outcomes experienced by White Americans. Black Americans are 2.5 times
more likely to be hospitalized from long-term complications, 3.2 times
more likely to be diagnosed with end-stage renal disease, and twice as
likely to die from this disease.
We know that the rate of diagnoses among Black Americans is on the
rise. Over the past two decades, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes for
Black and Hispanic youth has increased by 95 percent.
[[Page H5722]]
At the start of the 117th Congress, the Biden-Harris administration
and Democrats in the majority of the House and Senate made it our
priority to lower everyday costs for the American people and to improve
the affordability of lifesaving prescription drugs like insulin. We
delivered on that promise.
With unanimous support from the Congressional Black Caucus and House
and Senate Democrats, President Biden signed into law the Inflation
Reduction Act, which capped the cost of insulin at $35 per month under
Medicare prescription drug coverage, traditional Medicare, and Medicare
Advantage. Because of this action, some private companies have extended
that reduced cost to others, including children.
The IRA has significantly improved the affordability and
accessibility of lifesaving insulin for the 1 in 10 Americans with
diabetes, including millions of seniors who in some cases were paying
as much as $400 for a month's supply of insulin.
After the insulin cap for seniors went into effect, the top three
insulin manufacturers reduced their prices for all Americans, as I
indicated. This is what we can do when the government works for the
people. This is what the Democratic Party does when we are in the
majority. We put people over politics, and we will continue to do that
on behalf of the American people, who deserve nothing less.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues of the Congressional Black Caucus,
including Congresswoman Shontel Brown, who led the CBC in a press
conference today by marking National Diabetes Month, as well as all of
our members for their work in uplifting the stories of their
constituents who are living with diabetes and who have benefited from
the insulin cap under the Inflation Reduction Act.
{time} 2100
Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank our chairman of the
Congressional Black Caucus, Chairman Steven Horsford, for those
powerful words. Again, I thank our esteemed colleague, Congresswoman
Shontel Brown of Ohio, for having led this effort.
Mr. Speaker, I now yield to my colleague from the great State of
Louisiana, the distinguished Congressman, Mr. Troy Carter.
Mr. CARTER of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend very much for
yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, Ms. Shontel Brown, for leading
this effort. I also thank my dear friends and colleagues,
Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick and Representative Jonathan
Jackson for leading this Special Order hour on such an important and
timely issue, one that impacts our community more than almost any other
health matter.
Today, we are here to talk about a pressing matter, one that requires
our collective efforts--National Diabetes Month.
Diabetes, an epidemic gripping the United States, resonates with me
personally. According to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, over 34 million Americans face the consequences of
diabetes, and Louisiana is not exempt from the staggering reality.
In Louisiana alone, approximately 500,000 residents have been
diagnosed with diabetes. Shockingly, an additional 113,000 individuals
are unaware of their condition, heightening their high risks. Moreover,
a significant portion of Louisiana's adult population grapples with
prediabetes, teetering on the edge of a diagnosis that could alter
their lives forever.
The burden of diabetes is not just physical, but also economic. Each
year, an estimated 30,000 Louisianians receive a diabetes diagnosis
resulting in a financial toll of $5.7 billion for my State. These costs
encompass not only medical expenses, but also additional complications
that can arise, including heart disease, stroke, amputation, end-stage
kidney disease, blindness, and, tragically, death.
The impact of diabetes disproportionately affects communities of
color. Black Americans are 60 percent more likely than White Americans
to be diagnosed with diabetes and are twice as likely to die from this
dreaded disease. It is abundantly clear that the systemic racism is
intensifying this crisis in the United States. We must ensure that all
Americans have access to quality, affordable healthcare.
In the face of this dire situation, there is hope. Last Congress,
House Democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which caps monthly
insulin costs at $35 for 54,000 Louisianians covered under Medicare. I
was proud to vote for and in support of this life-changing measure that
is cutting costs for the people. This is a crucial step toward
improving lives, preventing diabetes, and ultimately finding a cure.
However, our responsibility does not end here. As a Member of
Congress, it is our duty to raise awareness, support prevention
efforts, and stand united against this threat. Let's use this National
Diabetes Month as a rallying point to spread awareness and make a
meaningful impact on the lives of those affected by diabetes around our
country, not just for Democrats, not for Republicans, but for people,
for humans, for people that breathe the air that we breathe, and for
people that live in the communities that we live.
This is, indeed, a bipartisan issue, one that does not see color,
race, or any other distinction other than a community that desperately
needs our leadership to live, to survive, and to thrive.
Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished
gentleman from the great State of Louisiana, Congressman Troy Carter,
for his participation.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to my colleague, the Honorable Sheila Cherfilus-
McCormick from the great State of Florida.
Mrs. CHERFILUS-McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of
National Diabetes Month. This month is important for all of us in the
United States. More than 37 million Americans have diabetes and we need
to double down on our efforts to find a cure for this disease.
During this month, we cannot lose sight of the stark disparities when
it comes to diabetes in the Black community. Black adults in the U.S.
are 60 percent more likely than White adults to be diagnosed with this
debilitating disease.
This is a national health crisis that deserves our immediate
attention. Black Americans with diabetes are 2.5 times more likely to
be hospitalized and are twice as likely to die from this disease.
As a healthcare executive, I saw this disparity firsthand and the
impact it had on the communities that I serve in Congress.
A study conducted at Emory University confirmed what many of us have
long known to be true.
Structural racism and geographic inequalities are exacerbating
diabetic health disparities. Estimates indicate that rates of diabetes
are 1.5 times higher among people of color, including Black Americans,
American Indians, Alaska Natives, Hispanics and Asians.
Statistics emphasize just how serious this epidemic is in my home
State. According to the Florida Diabetes Alliance, an estimated 579,000
Floridians have diabetes but don't know it, greatly increasing their
health risk and dying.
Yet despite inequalities, African Americans are 19 percent less
likely to access newer diabetes treatment. That means that they are 19
percent less likely to access medication which could mean a healthier
and longer life.
Every American, no matter the color of their skin or their ZIP Code
should be able to receive the best treatment options available with no
questions asked.
This month, let us recommit and address the social determinants of
healthcare and recognize the impact they have in driving diabetes
disparities. This encompasses everything from accessing green space and
how long it takes to get to the grocery store. It comes down to whether
patients live near a healthcare facility where they can speak to a
provider and receive leading-edge diabetes care. It is a matter of
whether our kids are eating nutritious lunches in the cafeteria.
If we want to get serious about tackling the disproportionate rates
of diabetes among Black Americans, this is where we need to start.
By focusing on the social determinants of healthcare, we would lay
the groundwork for a better and healthier future.
[[Page H5723]]
Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mrs. Cherfilus-
McCormick for her statement.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring vaunted and valuable attention to
one of the greatest health challenges plaguing the American people and
to declare that this body needs to do more to alleviate the pain.
The month of November has been designated as being National Diabetes
Month and the goal of this designation is to highlight the
disproportionate impact diabetes continues to have on the communities I
represent.
Never before has one chronic disease so diabolically focused its fury
on Black and Brown people, which, of course, begs the question as to
whether or not the proliferation of this silent killer is connected to
the quality of food and economic choices of those very same
communities.
The physiology of Black and Brown people is not in any way
predisposed to be more vulnerable to this disease than any other group
of people, and yet diabetes continues to destroy Black and Brown lives
at a rate that is more than disproportional but diabolic as well.
Since 2001, the proliferation of Type 2 diabetes among Black and
Brown youth has increased at a rate of 95 percent, Mr. Speaker.
According to the National Health Institute, young people between the
ages of 10 and 19 years of age have seen instances of Type 2 diabetes
double among them. Two out of every 100 Black and indigenous American
youth now suffer from this disease, and it is accelerating at an
alarming pace.
As I stand before you here, I shudder to think about the implications
associated with the level of increase, what that will mean for the
quality of life of families of young people currently sinking into this
chronic abyss.
{time} 2110
Whether we are willing to acknowledge it or not, the way we currently
treat, talk about, and address this disease will leave this country
vulnerable to a medical tsunami the likes of which no one on this
planet has ever seen.
We cannot be silent about this because if we do nothing, African
Americans are twice as likely as any other group to die from this
disease.
If we do nothing, African-American adults are twice as likely to be
hospitalized because of diabetes and suffer long-term complications
more than any other group.
If we do nothing, Black people in this country are three times more
likely to be diagnosed with renal disease which, of course, is a portal
that leads to a whole host of other debilitating morbidities.
If we just sit around and dither, Black people will be 60 percent
more likely to be diagnosed with a disease that has the power to kill
them. Let us not forget that African Americans currently make up 13
percent of the American population. When 95 percent of the young people
that make up 13 percent of your entire population are currently
slipping down the slippery slope of diabetes, someone has to sound the
alarm.
This is why every American should be glad that President Biden has
declared November to be National Diabetes Month, and all of us should
be glad because this is a conversation we need to have. The time for us
to act as if this is not a national emergency is over.
Diabetes in the American population has crossed the Rubicon. We are
well beyond the point of no return, and if we do not decide that the
health and healthcare of every American, particularly African
Americans, is a priority equal in its importance to national security,
then we will rue the day we buried our heads in the sand and
preoccupied ourselves with the seasonal foolishness of partisan
politics.
This is not a red State or blue State issue. The American people are
dying. The American people are suffering. The American people are
looking to the government they elected to do something in its power to
help, help them fight and ward off the devastating effects of this
debilitating disease.
Last year, millions of Americans reported hoarding insulin because of
shortages. The overwhelming need is manifesting itself nationwide. Who
would have thought that people who live in the world's greatest country
in the history of the world would have to hoard medication? Could any
of us have ever imagined that the need for insulin would be so
expansive that hoarding the medication would be a necessity or even an
option, but this is where we find ourselves. This is the reality
millions of Americans have to live with every day.
This is the minute-to-minute struggle for countless American families
trying not to lose hope amid a sea of chronic and cataclysmic medical
consequences. To those of you, I say hold on and don't give up. If we
are determined to do something about it here in this Congress, we can
say that elections have consequences because, indeed, they do.
One of the positive outcomes of the last Presidential election is the
fact that President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., is the duly elected President
of the United States, and he helped pass the Inflation Reduction Act to
help us deal with the runaway cost of insulin. Now insulin is $35 a
month. That is very much a welcome relief in my neighborhood.
As an American, not only as a Democrat, I am glad that we have
someone in the Oval Office who cares about what this disease is doing
to our country. It says a lot about the character and integrity of the
President that he would go out of his way to address this issue when so
many other problems have been vying for his attention over the last 3
years.
However, I also say to you, we can do more. We simply cannot avoid
the connection between the systemic inequities of America and the
incredible racial disparities by which diabetes continues to
proliferate in the Black community.
In fact, in a recent study conducted at Emory University, it was
suggested, if not directly implied, that structural racism is
accelerating the diabetes crisis in the United States of America.
Therefore, potentially what we have here is not just a medical crisis,
what we have happening in America is also a social and a cultural
crisis.
When it comes to diabetes and the Black community, it would appear
that our current crisis is the result of a strange confluence of
issues. Nutritional opportunities, access to fruit and vegetables, and
the inability to afford healthy nutritional options have all come
together to make an already terrible situation worse.
More and more researchers are discovering that the race, geography,
and economy of a community can be an overwhelming determining factor
for understanding the impact of this debilitating and chronic disease.
This is why I have been a major proponent of the Gus Schumacher
Nutrition Incentive Program, the GusNIP. I am a major supporter of this
program because it allows the Secretary of Agriculture to provide
funding opportunities to conduct and evaluate projects providing
incentives to increase the purchase of fruits and vegetables for low-
income consumers.
For many years, the other party has wanted us to believe that
government is the problem, but what they forget to tell you is that
sometimes national problems require national solutions; and there is a
role, indeed, for government.
In this program, it is critical for us to also understand that we
cannot retreat on SNAP. There are too many Americans who need the
supplemental nutritional assistance. Let us be clear, the same way we
incentivize big corporations and wealthy individuals with tax breaks,
we should have the moral courage to incentivize healthy choices for
low-income Americans.
What is good for the goose is also good for the gander. If incentives
work for rich people, then let them also work to save the lives of
working-class and low-income Americans.
As I stand here tonight, I am actively working to see this program is
fully funded this year. This is something we must do. We owe it to the
American people to do everything we can to help them save lives.
Let me simply say that it is about time we start incentivizing things
that keep people alive and not just behaviors that make people more
money. It is my great hope and expectation that the expansion of GusNIP
will allow the program to run more efficiently and increase cooperation
between recipients and the Federal Government.
I also believe that a greater emphasis needs to be placed on the
Healthy Food
[[Page H5724]]
Financing Initiative, created back in the Obama administration to
provide grants and technical assistance to empower families to have
access to fresh, healthy, and affordable foods in rural and urban
communities that are underserved.
Most people fail to realize that the overwhelming instances of hunger
in America are not happening in American cities. It is, rather, taking
place in rural communities. This is why I am pleased that the
Department of Agriculture partnered with the Reinvestment Fund to
invest $22.6 million to improve access to healthy foods in underserved
communities.
We have an obligation to do all that we can do to empower ordinary,
everyday American citizens to make choices that will sustain their
lives. As a government, we cannot make the choice for them, but we can
create a better set of options for them to make lifesaving decisions
for themselves.
What good is balancing the budget if the American people are sick and
dying from chronic disease?
What good is having a strong military or defense if the American
people are withering away from diabetes and other morbidities that
slowly eat away the health of the Nation?
A coherent and stringent immigration policy will mean absolutely
nothing if the people who are already citizens of this country are
dying from diseases that we can avoid.
Everything that America is and everything we hope it to be depends on
the health and safety of our citizens. In the absence of being healthy,
there is no American Dream.
I say to my colleagues, let us do everything that we can to empower
people to have greater health, longer life, and what every American
deserves; namely, three meals a day for their bodies, education and
culture for their minds, and, yes, freedom and dignity for their souls.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the Honorable Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick.
{time} 2120
Mrs. CHERFILUS-McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Jackson of
Illinois for co-anchoring, and I give a very special thank-you to our
CBC chair, Representative Horsford, for his work, and also to
Congresswoman Shontel Brown for hosting a press conference we held
earlier.
Mr. Speaker, in recognition of National Diabetes Month, I rise today
to commend the Biden-Harris administration for their work to deliver
lower insulin costs for the American people.
Because of the administration's transformative Inflation Reduction
Act, nearly 4 million seniors on Medicare with diabetes are seeing
their insulin costs capped at $35. Because of this, pharmaceutical
companies like Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have followed suit and also
capped their insulin prices at $35 a month.
This is a massive win for our seniors nationwide, including those in
Florida's 20th Congressional District. The life-changing cap that has
helped over 29,000 of my constituents pay $440 less each year in
insulin is worth it. These savings are making a tremendous difference
when it comes to health outcomes.
Medication is not something that those living with diabetes can go
without. Over 80 percent of adults with diabetes depend on medication
to manage their conditions.
While this cap is putting money back into our seniors' pockets, we
still have more work to do. As President Biden has made clear,
affordable insulin should be accessible to all Americans, not just
Medicare beneficiaries.
It is devastating that nearly a fifth of insulin users have to ration
their insulin use. In a country like ours, how can this be the case?
Stark healthcare disparities also underscore the need for us to do
more and to act. Diabetes rates are skyrocketing within communities of
color. Since 2001, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes for Black and
Hispanic children has increased by a staggering 95 percent. Let me
repeat that one more time: increased by 95 percent for our Black and
Hispanic children.
Nobody should be forced to choose between paying their rent and
buying insulin. No one should die because they had to ration their
insulin. No one should go blind or lose limbs because they could not
afford medication. Your life shouldn't be put on hold because you were
diagnosed with diabetes.
As Americans, we can and must do better. Last Congress, I was proud
to vote for the Affordable Insulin Now Act to clamp down on runaway
insulin prices threatening Floridians' health and financial security.
We need to get this bill across the finish line and make diabetes
treatment more affordable.
Americans all over, no matter their political affiliations, stand to
benefit from low insulin costs. Every American, no matter the color of
their skin or their ZIP Code, deserves a healthy and fulfilling life
and a dignified existence. Every American deserves to grow old with
dignity.
Diabetes is both preventable and manageable. Let's act now. Those
living with diabetes cannot wait.
Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, these are the issues of the
Congressional Black Caucus.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
____________________