Lower Health Care Costs For The People

Building Back Better
This week, I joined health care advocates and experts at San Francisco General Hospital to discuss Democrats' efforts to lower health care costs for all. Democrats have been fighting for generations to ensure that everyone has the right to quality, affordable health care – and the pandemic has highlighted the urgency and necessity of carrying on this fight. That is why, as we advance our Build Back Better agenda, House Democrats are working to extend and expand the historic progress of our American Rescue Plan to bring down health costs.

Thanks to the leadership of President Biden and Democrats in Congress, we have made transformative efforts to secure more affordable care during the pandemic:

• During President Biden's Special Enrollment Period, families who lost health care coverage during the pandemic were able to purchase insurance on Affordable Care Act exchanges. During this time, 364,000 Californians were able to sign up for health care.
• The American Rescue Plan delivered lower health insurance premiums for families, with average costs falling by 27 percent. Today, nearly 700,000 Californians have a quality plan for just $1 per month.

But our work is not done yet. While Big Pharma is on track to spend more than $1 trillion on stock and dividends, so many parents struggle to keep up with the costs of life-saving drugs for themselves and their children. That is why we will not relent until we enact H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, legislation that will save families thousands of dollars per year.

As our nation emerges from this crisis, we face a once-in-a-century opportunity to lower health care costs for families for good – and Democrats are moving quickly to seize it with our Build Back Better agenda.

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi joins local health care leaders and a San Francisco family benefitting from the American Rescue Plan at San Francisco General Hospital to highlight Democrats' efforts to lower health care costs and bring down prescription drug prices.

Click here to listen to Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi's eighth Telephone Town Hall, where she and experts discussed how President Biden and Congressional Democrats are advancing transformative policies For The People as part of Biden's Build Back Better policy agenda. Pelosi was joined by Chair Kathy Castor of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, Rudy Gonzalez of the San Francisco Building & Construction Trades and Linda Asato of the CA Child Care Resource & Referral Network.

Support for Our American and Afghan Heroes
The Congress joins President Biden in gratitude for the service and sacrifice of the brave troops, diplomats, aid workers and others who served in Afghanistan over the last twenty years and their families. Let us pray for the safe return of the heroic men and women still on the ground in Kabul, defending the lives of American civilians and our Afghan partners.

It is critical that the United States and the international community come together to protect the people of Afghanistan, especially the women and girls who are at the greatest risk. The Taliban must know that the world is watching and will not tolerate its brutal treatment of women and girls.

San Franciscans with Afghanistan repatriation or Special Immigrant Visa needs, please call my San Francisco office at (415) 556-4862 to be connected with a caseworker.

Securing the Right to Vote for Generations
This week H.R. 4, the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, was introduced in the House of Representatives, legislation which takes a momentous step to secure the right to vote for generations to come. With this crucial voting rights legislation, Democrats are fighting back against an anti-democratic tide of voter suppression and protecting access to the ballot box for every American.

Since the disastrous Supreme Court Ruling in Shelby v. Holder, a brazen, partisan campaign of voter suppression has attempted to silence voters of color across the nation and threatens to erode our democracy. This year alone, eighteen states have enacted thirty dangerous voter suppression laws, many of which are designed to keep communities of colors from the ballot box.

We cannot afford to wait to defend our democracy. When the House of Representatives returns on August 23rd, Democrats plan to pass H.R. 4 – and we continue to call on the Senate to join us in passing the vital voting rights legislation our nation needs.

Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, Help Is Here! Make sure you get your Rescue Plan benefits today.

Keeping Ahead of COVID in San Francisco
As the Delta variant spreads, you can get vaccinated and continue to take precautions to keep you and your loved ones safe. For eligible residents over the age of 12, find out where your local free vaccination sites are here. San Francisco is now offering a third dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines to immunocompromised people. Learn about free testing options in San Francisco, including a high volume testing site at 7th and Brannan in SOMA. California also announced a digital vaccination portal which can be accessed here.