Billerica lawmaker breaks down bill to create ‘safe-consumption site’ pilot program
“With lawmakers working to find not only creative but effective ways to combat the opioid crisis that still has a vice grip on not only Massachusetts but the nation, state Sen. Cindy Friedman, D-Arlington, is making progress towards possibly bringing the first safe-injection site program in the country to Massachusetts.
Friedman, who is the state senator for Billerica, recently sat down to speak about proposed program, to shed light on what could become a first for opioid treatment in the United States.
First, Friedman said if passed a program like this would not be foisted on a city or town. A community would have to express interest in the program coming to them. She said while she hasn’t directly worked with anyone in Billerica on this, larger municipalities such as Cambridge and Somerville have expressed interest.”
Senate plan, like the governor’s, aims to further bring down drug costs
The Massachusetts Health Policy Commission has long operated in the background of the state’s health care economy, conducting routine check-ups of the costs of care, and monitoring the vital signs of the region’s largest players. But recent policy proposals from both Gov. Charlie Baker and state Senate would give the watchdog agency power to try and influence the cost of prescription drugs, by questioning drug manufacturers and publicly shaming and coercing them into lowering the price of the most expensive products.
“What we will be looking at is what that cost is, and whether that cost is in line with a proposed value,” said State Sen. Cindy Friedman, who co-chairs the Committee on Health Care Financing and helped craft the Senate’s health care proposal unveiled last week. “If the Health Policy Commission finds cost is not in line with proposed value, then the HPC would engage in a process with a manufacturer to reduce that cost.”
Senate leaders to offer antidote for high drug costs
Massachusetts Senate leaders on Thursday will propose new legislation they say targets the high cost of prescription drugs, giving state officials the power to study and propose what they consider fair values for expensive medicines.
The bill — the Senate’s first major foray into a broader debate on Beacon Hill over health care — also would cap out-of-pocket costs for insulin, the lifesaving drug used by many patients with diabetes. Patients who now may be paying thousands of dollars annually for insulin would pay no more than $25 per month for the drug under the Senate plan, said Senator Cindy F. Friedman, cochairwoman of the Legislature’s Committee on Health Care Financing
MA Senate rolling out plan to tame drug prices
BOSTON — With the high cost of prescription drugs frequently flagged as an untenable driver of health care spending and an impediment to quality care, Senate leaders have come up with an ambitious plan they believe will help drive down the cost of expensive and unfairly priced drugs.
Sen. Cindy Friedman, an Arlington Democrat and the co-chair of the Committee on Health Care Financing, plans to unveil the bill at a press conference at the State House on Thursday, and leaders plan to call for a vote on the bill by the full Senate next week, ahead of a planned multi-week recess beginning on Nov. 20.
“We are very, very, very concerned about the cost of medications to consumers,” Friedman said in an interview. “We appreciate that this is a complicated and complex industry, that it is expensive, that there are absolutely real costs. What we’re asking is let’s get some transparency around those costs so we know how we can fix the problem for the consumers.”
Senate plan would give clout to state watchdog to limit drug pricing
A Senate plan would set up a system to empower a state watchdog agency to review and develop acceptable prices for well-known and expensive medications, and work with drug manufacturers to lower those costs for consumers. Sen. Cindy Friedman, an Arlington Democrat and the co-chair of the Committee on Health Care Financing, plans to unveil the bill at a press conference at the State House.
“We are very, very, very concerned about the cost of medications to consumers,” Friedman said in an interview. “We appreciate that this is a complicated and complex industry, that it is expensive, that there are absolutely real costs. What we’re asking is let’s get some transparency around those costs so we know how we can fix the problem for the consumers.” Friedman said drug makers should not fear the Senate bill unless they are attempting to make excessive profits off their drugs on the backs of patients. “I believe that this is not going to do anything to harm pharmaceutical manufacturers or the pharmaceutical industry,” Friedman said.
Arlington awarded $38,500 for recycling program
Senator Cindy Friedman (D-Arlington), Representative Sean Garballey (D-Arlington), and Representative Dave Rogers (D-Cambridge) recently applauded the announcement that the Town of Arlington has been awarded $38,500 from the Sustainable Materials Recovery Program (SMRP) grant, which will help maximize recycling, composting and waste reduction programs in the town.
“I am thrilled that our community has been awarded this grant to help enhance our recycling, composting and waste reduction programs,” said Senator Friedman. “Arlington will have the opportunity to continue the pressing work of protecting our community through sustainable programming.”
A glance back at recent accomplishments – and our plan moving forward
I hope you are well and are enjoying the fall season! As we enter the final three months of 2019, I want to give you an update on all that I’ve been working on at the State House, provide a brief overview on the major legislation we have passed in the Senate so far, and glance back on some great times I’ve had in the district.
As always, hearing from you about the issues you care most about helps inform my day-to-day work in the Senate. Please do not hesitate to reach out to my office by contacting me via the contact form on my website, by phone at (617) 722-1432, by email at Cindy.Friedman@masenate.gov, or by mail at Senator Cindy Friedman, State House, Room 413-D, Boston, MA 02133.
Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting At New Minuteman High School
LEXINGTON – State Senator Cindy Friedman said that on the morning of Friday, October 4, when a grand opening and ribbon cutting that she attended was held at the new Minuteman High School, she could not get one song out of her mind – “The Long and Winding Road” by the Beatles.
Senator Friedman, who spoke at the event, told the crowd gathered at Minuteman she kept thinking of that wistful ballad because the journey from the new Minuteman school building’s inception in November 2008 to its completion in October 2019 was indeed a long and winding road – protracted, sometimes frustrating, and strewn with pitfalls and hurdles galore.
New Lowell to Burlington shuttle opens job opportunities
LOWELL — Employers in Burlington hope that a new Lowell to Burlington shuttle will help them tap into the city’s labor pool. The shuttle launched last week after years of research and planning. For years employers, particularly restaurants, in Burlington have struggled to access a labor pool large enough to fill their job openings, and for years Lowell has struggled with the opposite problem – connecting residents with a wider job pool.
Hoping to address the problem, the Middlesex 3 Coalition and Burlington Area Chamber of Commerce approached Sen. Cindy Friedman, D-Arlington, and Rep. Ken Gordon, D-Bedford, for help. The collaboration has resulted in $250,000 in state funding over two years and contributions from the Town of Burlington.