Michiganders forced to leave prescriptions at pharmacy counter

Michiganders forced to leave prescriptions at pharmacy counter

by | Jul 19, 2021 | Regional News

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Greetings,

Right now, too many Michiganders are being forced to leave their prescription at the pharmacy counter because when they go to checkout, they realize the price is too high.

There’s nothing else we buy in our daily lives where we aren’t able to know the price before we show up at the cash register — only prescription drugs. So our office got to work on legislation to change that.  

My bipartisan bill, the Real Time Benefits Act, was signed into law by President Trump at the end of 2020, and it’s going to help lower the cost of prescription drugs and enable patients to find the best deal they can get on the medication they need.

Here’s how it’s going to work: this bill will create a tool to find the lowest-cost drug available by comparing alternatives and prices at different pharmacies. Your doctor will be able to use this tool to show you the difference in cost at different pharmacy locations so you can make the best decision for yourself — and all before you even have to leave the doctor’s office. Watch this video to learn more.

ImageLast week, I held events in Rochester, Howell, and Lansing to meet with seniors, senior advocates and medical professionals to talk about this tool and make sure that when it’s implemented, it’s done as effectively as possible. Hear from healthcare providers in the district about how this tool will be a game changer for the *1.7 million Michiganders who rely on Medicare part D.

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This is an important step in increasing transparency in the cost of prescription drugs, but there’s still work to be done. Click here to subscribe to my newsletter to stay in the know about future legislation we work on to lower the cost of prescription drugs and healthcare.

Rep. Elissa Slotkin

RIT opens for recycling and technology ideas

by | Jul 19, 2021 | Environmental

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 16, 2021
Jill A. Greenberg, EGLE spokesperson, [email protected], 517-897-4965

RIT Innovation Track opens for recycling innovation and technology ideas

EGLE initiative offers business planning support, resources, potential funding opportunities for recycling innovation and technology projects that demonstrate impact in Michigan

NextCycle Michigan’s Recycling Innovation and Technology (RIT) Innovation Challenge Track is now accepting applications through Aug. 11. The program seeks novel material recovery or sorting technologies, recycled content products, waste minimization techniques, new uses for recycled or organic materials, or other innovations to improve sustainable materials management in Michigan.

NextCycle Michigan, an initiative from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, leverages public and private sector assistance along with investment across six Innovation Challenge Tracks to accelerate Michigan’s recycling and waste recovery system. Boosting recycling and developing innovative solutions to waste management can reduce greenhouse gases and help Michigan on its path to carbon neutrality by 2050.

Teams accepted into the RIT Track will receive:

  • Individualized project plan development and support
  • Access to business, industry, and investment experts
  • Direct consulting support
  • Matchmaking with partners and funders
  • Workshops and networking events
  • Private and public funding opportunities

The RIT Track is open to businesses, entrepreneurs, universities, public agencies, tribal communities and non-profits who have investable project ideas with the potential to transform Michigan’s recycling economy. Teams must have a tested technology or idea, but the teams do not need to have proven market validation at the time of entry. Preference will be provided to teams showing the potential for growth, scalability and commercialization. Out-of-state teams are eligible; however, the project must address materials in Michigan and ultimately be located in the state.

“To move Michigan from the linear use and dispose model and toward a true circular economy will require innovation,” said Matt Flechter, recycling market development specialist for EGLE. “The RIT Track will help foster entrepreneurs, start-ups and organizations to advance their ideas on recovery, reuse, diversion, processing and product design.”

NextCycle Michigan aims to be inclusive in its engagement and will employ a lens that values and prioritizes diversity, equity and inclusion. Minority and women-owned businesses are encouraged to apply.

An application packet containing information on the RIT Track, eligibility criteria, application process and cycle deadlines is available at NextCycle Michigan.
Repairs to damaged I-75 estimated at $1.5 million

Repairs to damaged I-75 estimated at $1.5 million

by | Jul 19, 2021 | Transportation

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                            FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021

 

CONTACT: Rob Morosi, MDOT Office of Communications, 248-483-5107, [email protected]

 

Repairs to damaged I-75 pavement at Big Beaver Road in Troy estimated at $1.5 million after tanker crash and fire   

 

Fast facts:

– The July 12 tanker crash and fire resulted in significant damage to the freeway pavement and median barrier wall.

– The estimated cost to rebuild sections of I-75 lanes and wall is estimated at $1.5 million.    

– The repairs are anticipated to be completed in six weeks.   

 

July 16, 2021 — The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) announced that repairs to the damaged section of I-75 at Big Beaver Road in Troy is estimated at $1.5 million. All lanes of the freeway and a portion of the median barrier wall were damaged due to a July 12 tanker crash and fire. Those sections of pavement and barrier will be rebuilt, and all costs associated with the incident response, cleanup and repair will be submitted to the carrier’s insurance company for reimbursement.

Currently, I-75 traffic is maintained in the right lane of each direction to allow traffic to move on the freeway while crews rebuild the damaged left lanes, along with the concrete median wall that separates both directions of traffic. Afterward, crews will move to rebuild the right lanes. To minimize expected delays, crews will keep closed the entrance ramps at 14 Mile and Rochester roads to northbound I-75, and the entrance ramps at Crooks Road/Corporate Drive and Big Beaver Road entrance ramps to southbound I-75.

All lanes and ramps are expected to be reopened in six weeks.

Follow I-75 modernization progress on the web at www.Modernize75.com, or follow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Modernize75 or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Modernize75.
webinars to help recover emotionally from COVID-19

webinars to help recover emotionally from COVID-19

by | Jul 19, 2021 | Health and Wellness

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Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 16, 2021 

CONTACT: Bob Wheaton, 517-241-2112, wheatonb@michigan.gov

MDHHS “Stay Well” team presents summer webinars to help Michiganders recover emotionally from COVID-19 pandemic 

LANSING, Mich. – Mental health research shows it may take months or even years for some people to recover emotionally from experiencing something like the COVID-19 pandemic. With that in mind, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Stay Well program has scheduled two free summer webinar series focused on supporting mental wellness and strengthening resilience.

“MDHHS has recognized the value of helping people take care of their behavioral health as well as their physical health during the fight against COVID-19 and will continue to do whatever we can to help Michiganders address their mental health needs,” said Allen Jansen, senior deputy director of the department’s Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Administration. “The idea is to give Michiganders feeling distressed by the pandemic some new ways to channel their thoughts and energy this summer. Or, as we like to say, be kind to your mind.”

The two series of webinars are called the “Summer Resilience Series” and “Draw Your Feelings!” Details are below:

Summer Resilience Series

The series is open to anyone with access to the Zoom online platform. Featuring a diverse assortment of guest speakers from around Michigan, the webinars explore practices that can help people find hope, tranquility and optimism.

The remaining program line-up for the Summer Resilience Series is as follows, with all “Summer Resilience” webinars beginning at 1 p.m.:

  • July 20: Expressive Art: Reveal, Heal, Transform
  • July 27: Music for Mindfulness
  • Aug. 3: Mindfulness Practice for Anyone, Any Time
  • Aug. 10: Meditation 101
  • Aug. 17: Exercise for Depression
  • Aug. 24: Yoga and Yogic Breathing for Wellness
  • Aug. 31: Hardwiring Your Nutrition Routine

Draw Your Feelings!

The second series of webinars offers interactive Zoom workshops designed for parents and their children ages 2 to 10. Led by licensed clinical mental health counselor Zeinab Moussa, the weekly workshops are designed to help children build emotional intelligence through guided drawing activities.

“Children sometimes have difficulty expressing their emotions, and parents may not fully understand what the child is feeling,” said Dr. Debra Pinals, MDHHS medical director for Behavioral Health. “The pandemic has certainly shed light on this, as children have been forced to adapt to change, just as adults have. This free, interactive learning series uses art to help parents and children connect – to their inner emotions and to one another.”

The schedule and topics for this series are as follows, with all “Draw Your Feelings!” webinars at 2 p.m.:

  • July 21: All About Me. Children identify their own positive traits by making pictures. Helps boost self-esteem.
  • July 28: My Values. Parents and children illustrate their family values by creating a drawing together.
  • Aug. 4: Grief and Loss. Through drawing, kids acknowledge sad feelings and work toward processing grief and loss.
  • Aug. 11: Anger. What does anger look like? Making pictures leads to a discussion of appropriate ways to express anger.
  • Aug. 18: Love Yourselves. Children write what they love about their parents. Parents draw a self-portrait. Helps build parental self-esteem and strengthen family bonds

To learn more and register for any of the sessions, visit Michigan.gov/StayWell.  Recordings of past webinars are also available at the site.

In April 2020, disaster behavioral health professionals at MDHHS created the Stay Well Crisis Counseling Program, funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in conjunction with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to help Michiganders through the mental health challenges of COVID-19.

The program operates the Stay Well crisis counseling line – Dial1-888- 535-6136 and press “8” – hosts virtual support groups, presents psychoeducational webinars, and distributes mental wellness information in multiple languages. For information, visit Michigan.gov/StayWell.
Find your RX for cheaper

Find your RX for cheaper

by | Jul 9, 2021 | Regional News

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Ask yourself this: Is there any product that you buy where you don’t get to know the price until you’re at the checkout counter? There’s only one: prescription drugs. That’s why so many Michiganders leave their drugs at the pharmacy or are rationing. It was that realization, and the direct input of folks in our communities, that got me thinking about a solution to this problem: Why not show folks their drug prices ahead of time and let them compare costs between different brands and pharmacies? That was the idea behind the Real Time Benefits Act, a bipartisan bill that was signed into law by President Trump last December. I worked hard to make this bill a bipartisan effort from the very beginning, proving that progress is still possible in Washington when we’re organized around a common-sense approach and keep politics out of the legislating.

The Real Time Benefits Act enables doctors and patients to find the lowest-cost drug available by comparing alternatives and prices at different pharmacies, all before you leave the doctor’s office. You will leave knowing exactly which pharmacy to go to for the cheapest price. Put even more simply, it allows consumers the ability to compare pricing for their prescription drugs, like every other product in our lives. By increasing price transparency, the Real Time Benefits Act also encourages good, old fashioned American competition to help bring drug costs down across the board.

Once this law takes effect, patients on Medicare will be able to go into their doctor’s office and see a real-time comparison of drug prices between different brands and at different pharmacies where you can have your prescription filled.

Here’s a mock up of what the tool could look like:

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This week, I held a “Cost of Care” tour with events in Rochester, Howell and Lansing to raise awareness about how the Real Time Benefits Act will impact our community. I met with seniors, senior advocates and medical professionals from across the district to explain the idea behind this bill and to get their input about how we can make it as effective and useful as possible. The feedback I heard across the board re-confirmed what many of us know: prescription drugs are simply too expensive, and laws like the Real Time Benefits Act are important steps toward making the health care system more transparent and affordable.

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Giving a demonstration of the Real Time Benefits tool to senior advocates in Howell.

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Taking questions during our discussion with seniors in Rochester.

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Meeting with healthcare providers and local leaders in Lansing during my Cost of Care tour.

While I’m excited for the Real Time Benefits Act to take effect in doctors’ offices across Michigan and around the country, we all know that there is a lot of work remaining to make prescription drugs cheaper and more accessible. As your Representative, I’m committed to continuing the fight to find bipartisan laws that will save Michiganders money and make the health care system easier to navigate. If you’d like to stay updated on my work on prescription drug reform in Congress, make sure to subscribe to my newsletter. Thanks, as always, for reading!

Sincerely,

Representative Elissa Slotkin