Our region has been under attack. Immigrant families and US Citizens in his district, his direct constituents, have been shot at by supposed federal agents. Others have been chased into medical clinics, harassed, and detained in broad daylight. These aren’t distant headlines, these are the streets, homes, and workplaces of the very people who elected Congressman Pete Aguilar to represent them.

When violence strikes our communities – we need leadership. We need a congressman who will use his power to demand accountability from federal agencies that act with impunity. We need a leader who will use his platform to say clearly: our communities should not be hunted, shot at, or harassed in the United States of America.

At the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice, we don’t have the luxury of silence or delay. Every day, we are on the frontlines, informing people of their rights, running our immigrant defense hotline, providing legal support, and hosting community workshops. We are doing our part to protect our neighbors. But we need our representatives, especially one with Pete Aguilar’s influence, to do theirs.

Congressman Aguilar has the opportunity right now to use his position to set an agenda that will protect immigrant communities, demand accountability for federal agents who operate in our region, and to ensure transparency and justice for all. While Congressman Aguilar’s recent remarks at the Chicago Press conference were significant, his constituency now requires his commitment to three crucial actions:

Cease unconstitutional arrests and the use of force against all civilians.
Reverse the appropriations of the “Big Beautiful Bill” that contribute to raids, deportations, and family separations.

Terminate all funding for private prison companies such as GEO Group and CoreCivic.

For too long, immigrant communities have been told to be patient, to be grateful, to stay quiet. But silence has never saved us. What we need now are leaders who will fight for safety and dignity, not just when it’s politically convenient, but when it truly matters.

Congressman Aguilar, this is your moment.

Will you step up?

The post Will Congressman Pete Aguilar Step Up? appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

During his visit to the Inland Empire as part of his “National Latino Health Tour,” Secretary Becerra emphasized the positive impact of the Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act.

“We have to remember that there were days before the Inflation Reduction Act became law and lowered the price of insulin, people were having to ration their insulin and make decisions about what to do in their daily lives if they wanted to afford it,” said Becerra. “Today, people paying no more than $35 for insulin when on Medicare is a big deal, and the fact that we now have the ability to negotiate the prices on medicine is huge.”

The $35 insulin cost cap is set to benefit 108,164 Californians on Medicare who use insulin, addressing a critical need in a state where one 10-milliliter vial of insulin can cost up to $400; a person usually needs two to three vials a month. “This is the right thing to do for our patient care. We are going to continue lowering the cost of healthcare here in the Inland Empire because it matters to people,” said Rep. Aguilar.

Further emphasizing the Act’s impact, Rep. Aguilar highlighted that drug negotiations will benefit more than 830,000 California Medicare enrollees, saving them between $64 and $4,297 in out-of-pocket costs for the first ten drugs subject to price negotiations.

Additionally, the Act ensures that recommended vaccines are now free for the more than 1.2 million Latinos in California enrolled in Medicare, and introduces a $2,000 annual out-of-pocket cost cap, effective in 2025, which will save 203,210 Californians an average of $341.84.

Secretary Becerra also noted the historic increase in Latino enrollment in health coverage through the Affordable Care Act, which jumped by 53% from 2020 to 2022, helping more than 900,000 Latinos nationwide gain health insurance than ever before.

The press event also featured a fireside chat between Congressman Pete Aguilar and Secretary Becerra, where they discussed important issues like the Affordable Care Act, health insurance, medication prices, and mental health. A SAC Health patient named Sheila provided a poignant testimony on the importance of insulin and the recent struggles faced in terms of cost and accessibility, underscoring the significance of the measures announced.

As the Inland Empire and the broader Californian community look forward to these changes, the hope is that the Inflation Reduction Act will pave the way for a healthier and more affordable future for all.

The post Over 108,000 Californians on Medicare to See $35 Insulin Cap: Inland Empire to Benefit from Healthcare Savings appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.