Yes on Prop 61/Californians for Lower Drug Prices announced today that U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, in partnership with the California Nurses Association, will speak at two public rallies in California on Monday, November 7. Sanders will appear in downtown Los Angeles in Pershing Square at 10:30AM and at a second rally in Sacramento at the California State Capitol that afternoon at 1:00PM.  â€¨ 

Sanders will appear at the rallies alongside other Prop. 61 supporters, including the California Nurses Association, AARP, VoteVets, Social Security Works and the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, to speak out against Big Pharma’s price-gouging and the lies being told by the drug company-funded No on 61 campaign regarding the measure.

“We are delighted that Sen. Sanders is returning to California to campaign on behalf of Prop. 61,” said Garry South, lead strategist for Yes on 61. “It is a real testament to his longtime commitment to fighting the drug companies’ price-gouging and profiteering that his last official act of the 2016 campaign will be speaking out in California for the Drug Price Relief Act.”

Prop. 61, the California Drug Price Relief Act is the only initiative on the November ballot in all 50 states to address the pressing issue of drug company price-gouging. The Los Angeles rally follows the recent release of a documentary, “Your Money or Your Life!”, that features Sanders and others as they examine the drug industry’s power and greed.

LOS ANGELES

When: Monday, 11/07/16 at 10:30 AM
Where: Pershing Square, 532 S Olive Street, Los Angeles

Who:
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders
Emcee: Pilar Schiavo, California Nurses Association organizer
Kristan Delmarty, Pediatric RN, UCLA, and a Veteran
Ernie Powell, Social Security Works, formerly with AARP
Steve Dunwoody, VoteVets, Afghanistan War Veteran
Dr. Christopher G. Goring, Orthopedic Surgeon, 15-year Veteran
Laila Goring, U.S. Military Veteran and longtime community mobilizer
Michael Weinstein, President, AIDS Healthcare Foundation

SACRAMENTO

When: Monday, 11/07/16 at 1:00 PM
Where: California State Capitol – West Steps, 1315 10^th Street, Sacramento

Who:                   
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders,
Emcee: Stephanie Roberson, California Nurses Association
Asm. David Chiu
Carmen Balber, Consumer Watchdog
Michael Seaman, VoteVets, Navy Seabees Veteran
Blanca Castro, AARP California
RoseAnn DeMoro, Executive Director, National Nurses United

Background

Proposition 61 would require the state of California to negotiate with drug companies for drug prices that are no more than is paid for the same drugs by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA). Unlike Medicare, the DVA negotiates for drug prices on behalf of the millions veterans it serves, and pays on average 20-24 percent less for medications than other government agencies, and up to 40 percent less than Medicare Part D. Prop. 61 empowers the state, as the healthcare buyer for millions of Californians, to negotiate a better deal for taxpayers, saving the state billions.