I knew that I was going to love this conference based on the name alone – Affordable Medicines Now.
Public Citizen brought together advocates, activists, policy experts, decision makers and health care consumers for 3-days of discussion, debate and networking with a shared focus of lowering the astronomical costs of prescription drugs.
Examples of egregious behavior from Big Pharma to manipulate and obfuscate the truth are well-known. Dramatic price increases for no reason whatsoever of many of the most commonly-prescribed medications are a matter of public record. The challenges facing millions of Americans to access their life-saving and urgently necessary prescription drugs has filled news headlines for too many years.
This gathering made me hopeful that there are people in the world who care and who are willing to fight for what is right.
I’ve been following the public high-priced drugs debate for more than a decade and in recent months, I’ve heard a hopeful refrain that change is possible from people rising up and joining together to do something.
As Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-IL) asserted, “State and city governments are laboratories of democracy.” Indeed, there are dozens of state bills that hold great promise for change.
As Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA) pointed out, “Never before have citizens been more empowered.”
As Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) emphasized, “The power of the people is greater than the people in power.”
I believe these statements whole-heartedly, but here’s the thing – we have to stand up and take action if we are going to make a difference and create the changes that we all want.
“If you never make waves, you’ll never make change,” said Laura Packard, Co-Chair, Health Care Voter.
It starts with you.
Please share your story, reach out to us at info@personalimportation.org and let’s start.
Thank you to Public Citizen for an energizing and informative conference!
Yours in the fight, Tracy