OPINION

Chandler Cultural Foundation excited for the future

BY DAVID WOODRUFF

Guest Writer

After more than 18 months of meeting virtually, the members of the board of directors for the Chandler Cultural Foundation were able to meet for the first time in person on Sept, 24 for a retreat. As the chair of this dynamic board of diverse community leaders, it is my honor to work with all of them to provide the oversight and guidance for the programming presented at Chandler Center for the Arts.

As we talked throughout the day, it was re-energizing to connect with my fellow volunteers and the CCA staff.

We reviewed the highlights of how the center continued to deliver the arts to the community even while its doors were closed: no-cost online visual and performing arts programs that reached more than 7,000 young people, the free CCA Anywhere series of performances that were experienced by families and individuals at nearly 40,000 households, 37 outdoor performances at the CCA and Chandler Museum, and incredible partnerships with local artists and arts organizations. I don’t think we imagined what kind of impact we could make when we were first quarantined in March 2020 and staff had to act quickly to manage cancelled shows and educational programs.

With a new year ahead of us, the board of directors for the Chandler Cultural Foundation has a renewed dedication in its purpose to serve the City we all call home. We felt a new excitement in all that is possible for the CCA and our roles in making that possibility a reality. As a result, we created five new workgroups with the purpose of exploring new initiatives, giving space for fresh perspectives, and creating action items that can be implemented over the next year. As community leaders who have a fiduciary responsibility to the amazing work done at the CCA, we recommitted to our roles as advocates and ambassadors for the arts. Don’t be surprised if you are out in the community and you meet one of the 15 members of our board members, enthusiastically talking about Chandler Center for the Arts, its programs, its $8 million impact on the local economy, and the power the arts can have on all of our residents. I can’t wait to give you an update in a year. In the meantime, stay up-to-date on all we have going on at chandlercenter.org.

David Woodruff, chairs the Chandler Cultural Foundation Board of Directors.

Big Pharma distracts Arizonans from real medical scares

BY BLYTHE KAUHN

Guest Writer

Tensions continue to rise as Congress approaches a vote on the budget reconciliation bill, and Medicare negotiation hangs in the balance. This provision would allow Medicare to do exactly what the name implies, negotiate with drug companies to lower the prices of prescription drugs, to the benefit of patients right here in Arizona and across the country.

Because right now, pharmaceutical companies dictate the price of drugs in the U.S., and have forced Americans to pay far more for medicine than most wealthy countries. So it is no surprise that the industry will fight against Medicare negotiation tooth and nail. As a part of the fight, Big Pharma is running an ad campaign designed to scare constituents with falsehoods that Medicare negotiation will lead to decreased access to the drugs Arizonans need to live.

The ads, deemed “Mediscare,” falsely claim that Medicare negotiation will decrease patient access to prescription drugs and cut Medicare benefits. In reality, Medicare negotiation would increase access to prescription drugs by removing the burden of high prices, resulting in better health care outcomes for patients like me. Unlike Big Pharma’s false narrative, I faced a real nightmare after I experienced a life-threatening medical scare that sent me to the hospital at age seven. Doctors eventually diagnosed me with Type 1 diabetes, a disease I will live with for the rest of my life, and which requires me to take insulin to survive. As if a chronic illness isn’t hard enough, imagine the constant state of concern I experience as I have watched the price of my insulin vials rise from $20 in 1996 to over $350 in 2021, and I use two vials of insulin a month. That’s simply unaffordable for me. Every time I make a big life decision, it is informed by the need to afford my insulin. My husband had to take a job he was far less excited about in order to get medical insurance that would help cover the price of my insulin. Without that job or insurance, we could never afford the price of my medication. And if I drop a vial, I face the $350 price tag, forcing me to choose between food, rent, or my own health.

My story, and thousands of similar cases across the country, are exactly why Medicare negotiation needs to be included in the reconciliation process. High prescription drug prices literally mean life or death for some Arizonans individuals.

The U.S. prescription drug market is the largest in the world, yet somehow we continue paying the highest price for the same medications other countries obtain for much cheaper. A 2018 study of data found that insulin prices are eight times higher in the U.S. compared to 33 other countries.

And pharmaceutical companies are using their profits from the high price of drugs to push back against legislation that will lower drug prices and help patients - like Medicare negotiation. They are currently using some of their vast sums of wealth to send large boxes labeled, “Medical Shipment. Please Open Immediately.” to seniors and unaffiliated voters in Arizona. Inside these boxes, Arizonans find misleading literature and empty pill bottles attempting to scare us into urging Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly to cave and strip Medicare negotiation from the reconciliation bill.

Arizonans like myself need relief, and through the reconciliation process, Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly have the best opportunity in over a decade to pass Medicare negotiation into law. I hope the Senators will listen to the patients in Arizona who are suffering and ignore pharma’s scare tactics to include Medicare negotiation legislation in the reconciliation package.

Blythe Kauhn is a patient advocate and resident of Chandler.