Cole's Act fixes this
and protects patients from these
predatory practices of insurers
by ensuring that all
co-pays count towards the patients
out of pocket deductible.
The Senate Health Committee has
already held a hearing and has
passed this legislation out of
committee with a unanimous vote.
We are now asking the Senate to give
Cole's act, which is co-sponsored
by 20 of 33 senators
a floor vote.
We are also asking the Assembly
Health Committee to give COALS
Act, which has 31 co-sponsors
in the Assembly, a hearing yet
this month.
We need the legislature to get this
done this session.
Patients can't wait any longer.
These co-pay accumulator policies
are preventing patients from getting
access to needed medications
and that has to stop.
Insurance plans are rapidly adopting
these policies and they are becoming
increasingly comment.
As a result, more and more
patients are reaching out to us with
stories about going to the pharmacy
counter to pick up their medications
and being told they will have to pay
thousands of dollars out of their
own pockets in order to
receive their medications.
This is unaffordable for many
Wisconsinites who then
have to choose between rent,
food, or the medications they need
to live their lives.
This has to stop.
This has gone on for far too long
and patients need help now.
If the legislative body is given the
opportunity to vote on Cole's Act,
we are confident that Cole's act
will pass.
We're just asking for that chance.
Bring Cole's at forward and vote on
it. Twenty five states have already
passed similar legislation.
It's time for Wisconsin to get this
done.
Standing with me today is Cole's
father, Bill Schmitnack, and
he has some thoughts he would like
to share.
Bill, thank you.
As we approach
the two-year anniversary of my son
Cole's death, I wish I
could stand here and say that
his story was rare.
It's not.
Cole was 22 years old, he had his
whole life ahead of him.
Like millions of Americans, he
depended on timely, reliable access
to medication.
What failed him wasn't the modern
medicine, what failed him was the
system that puts a price tag on
people's lives.
Where profit is allowed to
outweigh patient safety.
That's why we're here today to
talk about Coles Act, SB 203
AB 173.
At its core, Coles act is about one
simple principle, patience.
Patience must come before profit.
One of the most critical protections
in this legislation is
patient choice, especially when it
comes to mail order pharmacy.
Mail order is often marketed as
a cheaper, more effective, but
families across Wisconsin
know the reality of
that. Medications are delayed,
shipments get lost, temperature
sensitive drugs are mishandled,
refills don't arrive when they're
supposed to.
For patients with asthma, diabetes,
heart disease, mental health
conditions, a delay isn't
an inconvenience, it's
a serious safety risk.
Colzak makes it clear,
no patient should ever be forced
to a mail-order pharmacy.
As their only option, I should say
that. Patients deserve access to the
pharmacies that keep them safe, not
the ones that maximize corporate
profit.
Local pharmacies play a
role no warehouse could ever
actually cover, if you think about
it.
They catch dangerous drug
interactions, they notice when
refills are missed, they answer the
phone when someone needs help.
The human connection is not a
luxury, it's a layer of safety.
And when we remove it,
patients pay the price.
Cole's Act also establishes
something long and I
wholeheartedly on this one long
overdue real fiduciary
responsibility.
If a company is managing health care
benefits it should be legally
required to act in the
best interests of the
patient not in
the interest of profit
or hidden rebates or
back behind the scenes fees or any
of that stuff.
Fiduciary rules mean transparency.
It means accountability.
It means medication decisions
are driven by patient safety
and clinical need, not
profit.
Now here's where we are,
we have the momentum as Rob
mentioned, we currently have
enough co-sponsors in the Senate to
move this bill forward.
We ask that they do so.
What we need now is action though,
and that's from the Assembly.
We need the Assembly Health and
Aging Committee to call a hearing,
get the vote done, and get
this legislation passed this
session.
Families cannot wait another
legislative session, patients cannot
afford more delays.
And life should never be collateral
damage in a profit-driven system.
Cole should be here today.
He's here in presence, but he
should be building his life, but he
found out that breathing isn't an
option and
access to life-saving medication
shouldn't be either.
Since he isn't here with us today,
we have a responsibility to act
now.
We'd be happy to take any questions
if you have any.
Have you heard any reasons as to why
all people have salt in
the 70s and 80s?
I think there's a lot of...
Lot of people.
I think there's a lot of opposition
from the insurance industry and that
I think has been our biggest problem
at this point.
They've made some arguments that
just aren't true.
They've said that the number
one argument we hear is that this
is going to drive up costs.
We know that's not the case.
In states that have already passed
this, premiums aren't higher and
in states that haven't passed
legislation like this, premiums
aren't lower.
The other argument that we've heard
them make is that, this will drive
patients to more expensive
brand-name medications, but there's
a provision in this bill that says
it only applies if there
is not a generic equivalence, so
that's not possible.
But those are the two arguments we
hear. We can refute both of them,
but they seem to be gaining some
traction.
Have you been?
In contact with assembly leadership
or leadership in the assembly health
committee.
If there's any sort of timetable.
Now, we believe that
we will get a hearing in the
assembly, but we need that hearing
to be in January.
As you all know,
the clock is running out.
From what we're hearing, that
they're going to break likely around
Valentine's Day.
So we've got basically a month
to get this done.
So we need the hearing in January
and we need to get it out of
committee in January so we have an
opportunity to get to the floor.
If this doesn't get done in the
session, you expect you to still go
after this in future sessions.
We're not giving up.
We will come back next session if we
have to. We don't have to do that
and patients can't wait.
I've met patients who are literally
telling me they're not going to take
their medication if this copay
accumulator is applied to them
because they can't afford it.
They can't weight.
But if we have to come back in that
section, we're not given up.