Town Hall About Controlling Medicine Costs

From left: AFSCME Local 1184 President Phyllis Talley, Alaysia Hackett (Department of Labor), Secretary Marty Walsh, Congresswoman Frederica Wilson in Miami Tuesday, Oct. 18

Controlling health care and prescription drug costs were on the agenda Tuesday, Oct. 18, when U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh participated in a Town Hall with AFSCME Local 1184 President Phyllis Talley, sponsored by Congresswoman Frederica Wilson at the Jessie Trice Community Health System in Miami. 

Talley reported that her members struggle with tiered costs in the Miami-Dade school district’s health care plan, but the Inflation Reduction Act should help. “It was a very informational program about changes AFSCME members will be seeing in access to medicine and affordability,” said Talley. 

Raised by immigrant parents, Secretary Walsh was a union Laborer who was elected Mayor of Boston before being appointed to the top labor position by President Biden. 

The Inflation Reduction Act, signed by Biden in August, will protect Medicare recipients from catastrophic drug costs by phasing in a cap for out-of-pocket costs and establishing a $35 cap for a month’s supply of insulin, according to the White House. Also in the Act, Medicare will be able to negotiate prices for high-cost drugs for the first time ever. For union members or family members who benefit from the Affordable Care Act, it extends health insurance premium subsidies.