Tillis, Burr vote in favor of keeping insulin costs high for the average American

Less than a week after showing his apparent disdain for America’s military veterans, North Carolina Republican Senator Thom Tillis showed that he doesn’t care much about helping the millions of Americans living with diabetes.

According to NBC News, 43 Republican senators – including Tillis and Sen. Richard Burr – voted against capping insulin prices at $35 for private insurers as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.

• Voting against the best interests of North Carolinians is nothing new for Tillis or Burr. Both senators recently voted against the Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act – a bill that addresses toxic water at Camp Lejeune that has led to deaths and life-threatening illnesses. Both Senators voted against the bill several times.
• Tillis’ support for keeping drug costs high makes sense considering his history of donations from the pharmaceutical and insurance industries. In 2019, Tillis received $20,500 from PACs tied to the drug industry before and after introducing a drug pricing bill. Overall, he received $1.4 million combined from the health and insurance industries during his 2020 campaign.
• More than 80% of Americans across political parties reportedly support keeping insulin costs down, yet both Tillis and Burr still voted against the bill. According to a Human Rights Watch report, the high price of insulin in America could be considered a human rights abuse.

After getting good press for saying he’ll support a bill to codify same-sex and interracial marriage rights, Tillis has done a great job of quickly reminding people that he is still a Republican, and cares more about keeping his donors happy than doing what’s best for North Carolinians.