House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday, Oct. 13, visited Forest Hills, where she joined Rep. Grace Meng for a roundtable conversation about the Inflation Reduction Act lowering the cost of health care for New Yorkers.
The roundtable, which included individuals from the health care and other fields, was held at Queens Community House’s Forest Hills Older Adult Center. The event part of Wednesday’s Health Care Day of Action, a national effort to spotlight the work that congressional Democrats have done to lower health care costs for Americans.
The legislation, which Meng helped pass in Congress, was signed into law by President Biden in August. It, among other things, allows Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, limits the cost of insulin to $35 per month, caps out-of-pocket prescription drug costs at $2,000 a year for those on Medicare, and extends tax credits on insurance premiums for individuals and families covered through the Affordable Care Act.
Meng thanked Pelosi for coming to Queens to highlight how the Inflation Reduction Act will help New Yorkers with the costs of healthcare including many constituents in her congressional district.
“I commend the speaker for her leadership in moving this sweeping legislation through the House,” Meng said. “We have to continue doing all we can to bring health care costs down, and make sure that New Yorkers receive the care they need and deserve. I will always fight to ensure the health and well-being of our communities.”
Pelosi returned to Meng’s district after visiting the area in 2019 when Meng hosted her for a roundtable on immigration that was held at Elmhurst Hospital. Pelosi said it was a privilege to join Meng, heroic healthcare workers and the leadership of the Queens Community House Forest Hills Older Adult Center for a vital conversation on Democrats’ work to lower healthcare costs for seniors.
“Across the nation, House Democrats are holding a Day of Action to highlight how our Inflation Reduction Act is slashing prescription drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries, while locking in lower insurance premiums for America’s working families,” Pelosi said. “While extreme MAGA Republicans seek to gut Medicare, raise drug prices and pad Big Pharma’s profits, Democrats will never stop fighting to lower health costs as we put people over politics.”
