Members of the Type 1 diabetes community slam Collins for siding “with Big Pharma over constituents in exchange for campaign cash”
Senator Susan Collins is running yet another campaign ad touting herself as a champion for Mainers with Type 1 diabetes. But for months, members of the Type 1 diabetes community have been speaking out about Senator Collins’ failure to take meaningful action to combat the skyrocketing costs of lifesaving drugs.
In fact, rather than working to hold drug companies accountable, Collins has accepted more than $400,000 from the pharmaceutical industry and has personally profited off of some of the companies fueling Maine’s opioid crisis.
It’s past time we had a Senator willing to stand up to big pharma, not one working to rake in their corporate campaign cash.
Read what Mainers have to say about Collins record of siding with big pharma over Maine families:
Portland Press Herald: Dereck E. Smith: Ad covers up Collins’ inaction on diabetes
I have been a Type 1 diabetic for 57 years and it saddens me to think the system is so broken that some people who can’t afford their medication literally die by cutting back their dosage. Wouldn’t it be great if we all had health plans as good as the ones our elected officials have? There are numerous reasons Susan Collins will not get my vote, but she and her lack of any meaningful legislation on the cost of drugs is at the top of my list.
Portland Press Herald: Sabrina Burbeck: Diabetic Maine child is being priced out of his own life
Power brokers like former Eli Lilly executive and current Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Sen. Susan Collins – who consistently sides with Big Pharma over constituents in exchange for campaign cash – care more about profiting off of families like mine than they do about having the blood of children like Dakota on their hands. Hundreds of thousands of parents are being priced out of decisions about our children’s lives because drug companies like Eli Lilly and people like Susan Collins force us to. We need affordable insulin – now.
Portland Press Herald: Maine Voices: When it comes to helping Type 1 diabetes families, Sen. Collins is resting on her laurels
I acknowledge the work Collins has done for the Type 1 diabetes community. But her actions in the last few years have contributed to the problem. Her vote for the Republican tax plan in 2017 allowed Eli Lilly, one of the three major producers of insulin, to pay no federal taxes in 2018. This year they’ve spent more on marketing and sales than they have on research and development (according to their own quarterly reports). They’ve also spent over $1 million on lobbying. Collins has accepted money from Eli Lilly. How much doesn’t matter; $1 is too much if it comes at the cost of my son’s life.
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