Tucson Opinion: Sen. Sinema, Arizona's women need your help

Since the start of 2020, healthcare has taken center stage in the American political consciousness. The COVID-19 pandemic that gripped the country last March continues to loom in the background of every aspect of daily life and the Delta variant dominates headlines from CNN to Fox.

But, while the pandemic recovery effort slowly but surely plugs along, another healthcare concern has quickly become the top issue for women voters. Right now, as women’s health is top-of-mind for Americans everywhere, Congress has an opportunity to score another major win for women’s health across the country.

High prescription drug prices have hit Arizonans particularly hard, but the rapidly rising cost of medications disproportionately affects women here and across the United States. In the past, drug companies have avoided facing repercussions for their price gouging practices, but lately, the government has taken steps to highlight the issue.

President Joe Biden recently asked Congress to pass common sense drug pricing reforms, like allowing Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices.

However, as prescription drug pricing legislation makes its way through the Senate, it’s becoming clear that any policy proposal will require the support of Arizona’s Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.

Senator Sinema has long been a strong advocate for women’s rights and a fierce fighter defending the right to healthcare — and now, more than ever, Arizonan women need her help.

It’s been well-documented that the pharmaceutical industry has systematically and unfairly raised the price of prescription medications to line their pockets.

Unfortunately due to gendered health disparities in the United States, that means women, unfortunately, bear the brunt of our prescription drug pricing crisis. Women, who are more likely to deal with conditions ranging from anxiety to cancer, are more likely to require a prescription medication than men — and more vulnerable to high drug prices.

Not only do women need more prescriptions than men, but the medications they use are disproportionately expensive. The drugs used to treat breast cancer, fibromyalgia, and macular degeneration, all three of which are more prevalent in women than men, are three of the 12 highest grossing prescription medications on the market.

Women hoping to address some of the medical realities that men simply don’t deal with can expect additional prohibitive costs. Teva’s Prefest, used to treat symptoms associated with menopause, and Millicent’s Femring, a commonly used contraceptive, saw ludicrous 9.4% price jumps in January of 2020 alone, nearly quadruple the rate of inflation.

The high price of women’s health has real-world consequences. Twenty-seven percent of women across the country have reportedly skipped out on their prescriptions due to cost, and multiple health experts have cited the expensive nature of much-needed prescription medications as a key driver for the growing health disparities between men and women.

Now, as prescription drug pricing legislation winds its way through Congress and toward the Senate, women’s health is in the hands of Sen. Sinema.