WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) announced that he will bring Mrs. Marguerite Bailey Young of Fredericksburg, Virginia as his guest for President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address. Mrs. Young – a 94 year-old widow and retired school system administrator – relies on several daily medicines, including two types of insulin. Like many seniors across the country, Mrs. Young has seen the cost of her insulin drop dramatically thanks to a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act that caps insulin at $35 per month for Medicare recipients.

“Congress has spent years talking about lowering the price of prescription drugs, and last August, under President Biden, we did just that. This State of the Union, it’s an honor to be joined by Mrs. Marguerite Bailey Young – one of millions of Americans who no longer have to worry about rationing or having to forgo their insulin due to the disproportionate, skyrocketing costs,” said Sen. Warner.

The Inflation Reduction Act is a historic piece of legislation that was supported by Sen. Warner, passed by Congress, and signed into law in August of 2022. The Inflation Reduction Act is expected to lower the cost of prescription drugs costs and health care by allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, capping out-of-pocket costs for seniors, and extending the expanded Affordable Care Act subsidies for three years, among a number of other key provisions.  

Mrs. Young, an Accomack County native who lives independently and on a fixed income, has been an active advocate for access to health care for underserved persons in her region. She previously served as a board member of Central Virginia Health Services, a federally qualified health center with more than 15 practice sites throughout Central Virginia. She spent more than 30 years championing healthcare access and equity within her own community, first as a Board Trustees on the Mary Washington Healthcare Board, then continuing to serve as a citizen member on the health system’s board-level committees before retiring just last year.

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