Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Health Care
Durbin, Duckworth, Rep. Kelly, Lawmakers Press Major Health Insurers To Ramp Up Their Efforts To Reduce Racial Disparities In Maternal & Infant Health Outcomes
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and U.S. Representative Robin Kelly (D-IL-02) today led 23 Senators and 11 U.S. Representatives in pressing 15 major health insurers for information regarding what pregnancy and postpartum health care services are covered by their insurance plans in order to better understand what steps they are taking to reduce racial disparities and improve maternal and infant health outcomes. The members also urged the health insurers … Continue Reading
July 12, 2018
Durbin, Duckworth, Rep. Kelly, Dem Members Of Illinois Congressional Delegation Press Gov. Rauner On Racial Disparities In Maternal & Infant Health Outcomes in Illinois
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with U.S. Representatives Robin Kelly (D-IL-02), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09), Bobby Rush (D-IL-01), Mike Quigley (D-IL-05), Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17), Danny Davis (D-IL-07), Brad Schneider (D-IL-10), and Bill Foster (D-IL-11) today pressed Governor Bruce Rauner on what steps his Administration is currently taking-or plans to take-to improve maternal and infant health outcomes in Illinois, as well as to reduce the stark … Continue Reading
June 29, 2018
Senate passes Durbin, Roberts Farm Bill Amendment To Support Rural EMS Agencies
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Senate passed the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018, also known as the Farm Bill, which included an amendment by U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Pat Roberts (R-KS), and cosponsored by Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), to reauthorize a federal grant program that directly supports rural emergency medical services (EMS) agencies in training and recruiting staff, conducting courses to satisfy certification requirements, and purchasing … Continue Reading
June 28, 2018
Senate Appropriations Committee Passes Funding Bill That Includes Durbin Priority Of Increased Medical Research Funding
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced a $2 billion, or 5.4 percent, increase in funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, which passed 30-1 out of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Over the past five years, Durbin has worked to provide NIH with $10 billion in increased funding, a 34 percent increase. Within this … Continue Reading
June 15, 2018
Durbin Calls for Additional Action to Address Skyrocketing Prescription Drug Costs
PEORIA - As the costs of prescription drugs continue to rise, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined leaders and doctors at OSF Children's Hospital of Illinois to discuss new efforts to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable and lower prices for consumers. Durbin has introduced legislation to require disclosure of prices in prescription drug advertising to consumers and has co-sponsored a bipartisan bill, approved yesterday in the Senate Judiciary Committee, to combat abusive delay … Continue Reading
June 14, 2018
Durbin, Duckworth Call On Trump Administration To Protect Americans' Health Care, Halt Expansion Of 'Junk' Health Insurance Plans
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined 45 other Senators in a letter urging the Trump administration to halt the implementation of a health care proposal that could threaten access to quality, affordable care for Americans and raise health care costs, especially for older Americans and those with pre-existing conditions. The proposal would mean the expansion of previously limited short-term health insurance plans to year-long "junk plans" that can … Continue Reading
June 04, 2018
Durbin Presses FDA And Drug Manufacturer For Information On Epipen Shortages
CHICAGO-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today pressed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Pfizer's Meridian Medical Technologies, Inc. for information regarding the ongoing challenges that families nationwide are facing with respect to obtaining EpiPens. Last month, FDA added EpiPen 0.3 mg and EpiPen Jr. 0.15 mg, as well as generic versions of these products, to its list of drug shortages, due to supply disruptions and manufacturing delays at Meridian Medical Technologies. "Our … Continue Reading
May 29, 2018
Durbin, Duckworth Ask Illinois Superintendents About E-Cigarette Use By Middle And High School Students
U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) are reaching out to Superintendents across the state and requesting information regarding what Illinois middle and high schools are experiencing with respect to student use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) and vaping products, such as the JUUL vaping device. Nationwide, between 2011 and 2015, the use of these dangerous and addictive nicotine products among high school students increased more than ten-fold-from 1.5 percent to … Continue Reading
May 24, 2018
Senate Judiciary Committee Passes Bipartisan Bill To Address Flow Of Opioids In American
In the midst of a prescription opioid, heroin, and fentanyl crisis that is devastating communities of all sizes in every state, the Senate Judiciary Committee today passed narrow, bipartisan legislation that will enhance the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) existing opioid quota-setting authority by improving transparency and enabling DEA to adjust quotas to prevent opioid diversion and abuse. The Opioid Quota Reform Act of 2018 was introduced by U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), John … Continue Reading
May 18, 2018
Durbin Calls For Transparency From Pharmaceutical Companies in Advertising to Consumers
CHICAGO - As the costs of prescription drugs continue to rise under the Trump Administration, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today sent letters to top pharmaceutical companies urging them voluntarily list the price of their drugs in their advertisments to consumers. At the same time they are dramatically increasing prices on patients and the federal government, the pharmaceutical industry spends more than $6 billion on advertising drugs to consumers and more than $20 billion in aggressive … Continue Reading
May 11, 2018
Durbin Reintroduces Legislation to Combat Opioid Over-Production and Over-Prescribing
CHICAGO - As the prescription opioid, heroin, and fentanyl overdose epidemic continues to impact communites around Illinois and the country, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today reintroduced his legislation to improve opioid prescribing practices and responsibly limit the volume and type of addictive painkillers on the market. The Addiction Prevention and Responsible Opioid Practices Act (A-PROP Act) would strengthen oversight of the pharmaceutical industry, and help prevent opioid … Continue Reading
May 10, 2018
Durbin, Roberts Introduce Bipartisan Legislation To Support Rural EMS Agencies
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Pat Roberts (R-KS) today introduced bipartisan legislation to reauthorize a federal grant program that directly supports rural emergency medical services (EMS) agencies in training and recruiting staff, conducting courses to satisfy certification requirements, and purchasing equipment-for everything from naloxone and first aid kits, to power stretchers or new ambulances. The Supporting and Improving Rural EMS Needs (SIREN) Act would … Continue Reading
May 07, 2018
Durbin Calls on Trump Administration to Stop Sabotaging Health Care for Americans by Pushing Junk Insurance Plans
CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on President Trump's Administration to halt the expansion of junk insurance plans that would once again allow health insurance companies to refuse coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, raise premiums significantly for older Americans, and exclude basic benefits such as maternity care or prescription drugs. The Trump Administration has proposed a new rule to expand so-called "short-term" insurance plans to bypass the consumer … Continue Reading
May 03, 2018
Durbin, Manchin, Markey Press FDA To Heed Public Health Requests, Remove Ultra-High Dosage Opioids From The Market
WASHINGTON-In the midst of our nation's unprecedented opioid epidemic, which is killing 115 Americans every day, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Joe Manchin (D-WV), and Ed Markey (D-MA) today urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to remove ultra-high dosage opioids from the market. Ultra-high dose opioids are those which, when taken as directed by the label, exceed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) threshold for dangerously high daily opioid intake. For … Continue Reading
May 02, 2018
Durbin, Duckworth Statement On Rauner Administration's Plans For Next Steps At IVH Quincy
CHICAGO - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today released the following statement regarding the release of Governor Bruce Rauner's plan of action for ensuring the safety of residents, family, and staff at the Illinois Veterans' Home (IVH) Quincy: "The need for a detailed plan of action is critical and long overdue given the multiple outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease at IVH Quincy that have sickened more than 65 residents and killed 13 over the past three years. … Continue Reading
April 23, 2018
Durbin, Duckworth Join Colleagues In Calling On Trump Administration To Halt New Regulation That Would Raise Health Insurance Premiums, Deny Coverage For Pre-Existing Conditions
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and 42 other Senators today to call on the Trump Administration to halt a proposed regulation that would create junk health insurance plans that would return us to the days when insurance companies could refuse to cover people with pre-existing conditions and raise premiums significantly for older Americans. The Senators expressed their … Continue Reading
March 28, 2018
Durbin, Winnebago County Leaders Discuss Efforts to Combat Opioid Crisis, New Funding in Federal Spending Bill
ROCKFORD - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with local doctors and treatment professionals at Mercyhealth Hospital to learn about efforts in Winnebago County to combat the prescription opioid and heroin epidemic. Senator Durbin highlighted major opioid-related funding increases in the fiscal year 2018 omnibus spending bill, which was signed into law last week, including more than $3 billion in new funding for treatment, prevention, and research to fight the opioid crisis. Durbin also … Continue Reading
March 27, 2018
Durbin Discusses New Federal Investments in Medical Research
CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced new federal investments included in last week's omnibus spending bill that will help Chicago's biomedical research institutions continue their important work creating new technologies and finding ways to treat and cure disease. The Fiscal Year 2018 omnibus includes a $3 billion (or nearly 9 percent) increase for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a $1 billion (or 14 percent) increase for the Centers for Disease Control and … Continue Reading
March 19, 2018
Durbin Statement On New White House War On Drugs
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement: We cannot arrest our way out of the opioid epidemic-we tried that and ended up with an even bigger addiction problem and the world's largest prison population. Everyone from doctors to law enforcement understands that addiction is a disease, not a moral failing that can be beaten simply by getting 'tough on crime.' The war on drugs didn't work in the 80's, and it won't work now by reviving failed … Continue Reading
March 12, 2018
Durbin. Kennedy, Feinstein, Grassley Introduce Opioid Quota Reform Bill To Strengthen DEA's Ability To Prevent Opioid Diversion And Abuse
WASHINGTON - In the midst of a prescription opioid, heroin, and fentanyl crisis that is devastating communities of all sizes in every state, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), John Kennedy (R-LA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), all members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today introduced the Opioid Quota Reform Act of 2018. This narrow, bipartisan legislation will enhance the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) existing opioid quota-setting authority by improving … Continue Reading