CARAVEO

She ended her 8th District tour later that afternoon with a stop at Brighton’s Sakata Farms to discuss upcoming farm legislation and said she would promote grants to help local food banks.

“ ere is an entrenchment of urban and rural divides. In this narrative, we will not let the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) be cut, and the other side says SNAP will be cut,” Cavaveo said..”I’m concentrating on this to ensure pediatricians like myself can continue these needed programs so kids don’t have hunger issues.”

Inflation Reduction Act

Billed as a question-andanswer update of the federal In ation Reduction Act signed into law last year, the ornton Active Adult discussion never strayed far from prescription prices.

e In ation Reduction Act was the nal result of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better e orts. It included reforms meant to promote green energy options, to close tax loopholes on corporations and those making $400,000 and to lower health care premiums.

But the act also allows the government to negoti- ate drug prices on certain pharmaceuticals. at is key for Becerra. He noted those negotiations have lowered the price of insulin to $35 for senior Medicare patients, with hopes that will lower the cost for privately insured patients.

“Moving forward, we are going to start being able to negotiate prices on more drugs under the Medicare program,” he said..”If what happens with insulin happens with other drugs, we should begin to see the prices go down and not just for the people on Medicare but for everyone.”

Comments

Moderated by Lily Griego, a regional director of the federal Health and Human Services Department, the roundtable discussion included local Caraveo supporters from ornton and Greeley. But Colorado o cials from the Polis Administration, the AARP and City of ornton were also on hand to listen.

John Bass, Broom eld resident who retired from the construction industry after a cancer diagnosis said relief from the cost of medicine is key.

“I accidentally got a bill once for my treatment and it was only $13,000 a shot,” Bass said..”And I just freaked out. I’d just gone on Medicare and I didn’t know how to x it.”

Former Greeley Dentist

U.S. Representative Yadira Caraveo greets John Bass, a volunteer during her 2022 election campaign, during a roundtable discussion on the Inflation Reduction Act at Thornton’s Active Adult Center April 4.

Rocky Kron, a Kaiser Permanente customer now, took it a step further, saying it medical groups save money and make medicine better.

“I’m a huge supporter of community health centers and I think my experience with Kaiser Permanente has been better because of the coordination of bene ts, similar to what Congresswoman Caraveo was talking about with Salud,” Kron said..” e services are all coordinated and the doctors are all working together in the same plant so they can talk to each other. I think we need to move to a more socialized form of medicine to lower costs and coordinate care.”