FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 19, 2019
CTLatinoNews.com endorses House Bill 7174, partners with AARP to inform the Hispanic/Latino community in Connecticut about legislation
(Hartford, Connecticut) – Today, CTLatinoNews.com announced the news organizations’ endorsement of House Bill 7174, a piece of legislation to reduce high prescription drug prices.
The bill is designed to bring prescription drug price hikes under control; requiring pharmaceutical manufacturers to send notice to the Insurance Commissioner regarding agreements to delay the release of a generic drug in exchange for compensation from the brand name distributor.
“The rising cost of prescription medication impacts everyone, but Hispanics are especially hard hit,” commented Anna Doroghazi, Associate State Director of Advocacy and Outreach for AARP Connecticut. “In Connecticut, Hispanics are twice as likely as non-Hispanic whites to be diabetic, and the price of insulin has doubled in recent years.”
HB 7174 will also leverage the state comptroller’s purchasing power by allowing him to purchase prescription drugs for private employers and it would prohibit any health carrier or pharmacy benefit manager from recouping any portion of a claim that has been paid to a pharmacy or pharmacist. “Insulin was discovered almost a hundred years ago,” said Doroghazi. “There is no reason why prices should be going up now, and it’s upsetting that these price increases disproportionately impact the Hispanic community.” It establishes a task force to study drug re-importation from Canada.
CTLatinoNews.com is partnering with AARP to inform the Hispanic/Latino community in Connecticut about HB 7174 and the debate lawmakers are having in the General Assembly.
“Our goal is to provide accurate sources of information to best educate the residents statewide and improve the quality of our communities,” said Hugo Balta, Publisher and Executive Editor of CTLatinoNews.com. “CTLN has a responsibility to empower individuals and families on legislation that will ultimately affect their quality of life.”
The initiative begins in April and concludes with the end of CT legislative session in June.
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About CTLN: An award winning online news publication, CTLatinoNews.com was launched in 2012 by former NAHJ President Diane Alverio. In 2019, Hugo and Adriana Balta acquired CTLN, the only English language digital outlet serving the Latino and Hispanic communities in Connecticut. The statewide, community focused multimedia platform provides focused news and information with sophistication, that goes beyond the one-dimensional storylines about Latinos often portrayed in mass media. CTLN is part of the Latino News Network (LNN).