OKLAHOMA CITY — State Representative Preston Stinson and Senator Brent Howard commented on Governor Kevin Stitt’s veto of a bill designed to protect rural health care on Wednesday.
“…Rural Oklahomans lost to Big Pharma. Out-of-state and foreign drug companies and the dark money interest working for them successfully derailed the most important legislation introduced this year to help the health care providers who serve our most vulnerable communities,” said Stinson and Howard in a joint statement. “By lobbying for a veto of House Bill 2048, these deep-pocketed interest groups effectively undermined protections for essential medical services, including cancer treatments and obstetrical care, across our state.”
House Bill 2048 would stop drug manufacturers and distributors from limiting the number of pharmacies 340B hospitals and healthcare providers can contract. This practice makes it extremely difficult for all qualified patients to be covered under this federal program.
“These groups spread blatant lies and misinformation to attack us and our fellow conservatives in the Legislature,” the statement continued, “They claimed we support illegal immigration and gender transition surgeries for minors
240B providers are rural, nonprofit and necessary hospitals and health centers that serve a high amount of uninsured and low-income patients.
“The Oklahoma Legislature overwhelmingly passed House Bill 2048 to give rural Oklahomans a fighting chance against the $7 trillion drug industry that prioritizes profits over people,” the statement continued. “We ask our colleagues in the House and Senate to join us in urging leadership in both chambers to override this veto so Oklahomans across the state, from Boise City to Edmond to Burns Flat and everywhere in between, do not lose access to life-saving health care. We introduced this bill to stand with Oklahoma patients, local pharmacists, and frontline providers while Big Pharma rakes in record profits and fights President Trump’s mission to lower prescription drug costs for all Americans.”
“While we agree with the Governor that broader reforms are needed to fix the federal 340B program, Oklahomans can’t afford to wait while the Washington bureaucracy drags its feet. This Legislature will not be intimidated by Big Pharma’s shady tactics and smear campaigns. It’s time to override this veto to protect our local providers and reject the profit-driven motives of out-of-state pharmaceutical companies,” said Stinson and Howard.
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