What: Rally for Congress to Lower Prescription Drug Prices

When: Tuesday, August 20 at 12 p.m. (noon)

Where: Senator Warner’s Norfolk Office at 101 West Main Street, Norfolk, VA 23510

Norfolk, Va. — Virginia Organizing will hold a rally tomorrow, Tuesday, August 20 at noon outside Senator Warner’s office in Norfolk to call on Congress to force Big Pharma to lower prescription drug prices. Community members want Sen. Mark Warner and Rep. Elaine Luria to take on big pharmaceutical companies with bold action to lower drug prices. Activists will demand a comprehensive plan to hold drug makers accountable, end drug monopolies, and guarantee all patients can get affordable medicines they need.

This event is part of the “People Over Pharma Profits” National Day of Action with thousands of activists across the country demanding President Donald Trump and Congress move beyond tweaks, half-measures, and promises by proposing reforms that take away drug corporations’ power to set and keep prices high. Virginia Organizing is calling on Sen. Warner, Rep. Luria, and the rest of the Virginia Congressional Delegation to take responsibility for fixing this broken system by making prescription medication affordable for everyone.

Terry White, a Virginia Organizing leader, is coming to the rally to talk about how he has been affected by high drug prices.

“If it weren’t for Medicaid Expansion, I would pay about $7,000 a month in medication costs. I am diabetic and recently survived prostate cancer,” said White, a Chesapeake resident. “People like me shouldn’t have to suffer from high drug costs in order to stay alive.”

Shawna Lawson, a leader in the Newport News Chapter of Virginia Organizing, agrees.

“In 2017 I was diagnosed with kidney failure and the cost of the drugs I had to take were astronomically high. Some pills were $250 and $300 a piece. I ended up taking sample drugs from doctors and cobbled together the bare minimum in order to survive and that is a dangerous thing to do,” said Lawson.

Shawna, Terry, and others directly affected by high drug costs will be available for interviews at the rally on Tuesday. Lawmakers must take action to lower drug prices now and stop drug companies from price-gouging patients in order to inflate their profits.

To interview a spokesperson about this event, contact Meghan McNamara at 847-922-1213 or meghan@virginia-organizing.org.