Indiana loses sitting State Senator after battle with health condition
March 20th, Indiana Senator Jean Breaux passed away after a brave battle with a health condition. Senator Breaux honorably served her constituents since 2006.
IBLC Chair and State Rep. Earl Harris (D-East Chicago) released the following statement on behalf of the IBLC:
“The IBLC is incredibly saddened by the passing of our friend and colleague. Jean’s insight has proved invaluable to our caucus, and we will miss her passion and fiery spirit.
Since her election to the Senate in 2006, Sen. Breaux has proven herself as a dedicated public servant and a fierce advocate for both her district and Hoosiers all over the state. She has worked tirelessly to support Hoosiers of all backgrounds, championing issues related to Black infant and maternal healthcare, reproductive justice, food insecurity, gun violence and rising utility costs.
Sen. Breaux has long fought for women’s reproductive rights and continued to do so amid the fall of Roe v. Wade. Sen. Breaux again voiced her dissent when the Indiana supermajority passed a near-total abortion ban, asserting that the decision only serves to punish women.
In 2021, she authored two vital pieces of legislation, including the adoption of doula coverage into insurance plans. Black mothers experience a disproportionally high maternal mortality rate due to the racial disparities in healthcare. Doulas help to combat this disparity by providing mothers with comprehensive, personalized care before, during and after pregnancy. By providing coverage for doula care, Hoosier mothers gain access to increased maternal health care, which have proven to provide better outcomes for women and their newborn children.
That same year, she also passed a law that would prevent inmates requiring further mental health treatment from being thrown out onto the streets with nowhere to go following their release. This past session, Sen. Breaux authored a bill requiring insurance coverage for living organ donors, ensuring that these heroes are provided with the care they deserve.
Aside from her work to improve Hoosier healthcare, Sen. Breaux has pushed for reforms to alleviate the financial barriers that place an undue burden on those in our state, especially vulnerable populations and those on a low-income. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sen. Breaux sent a letter to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission urging them to forgo a rate increase that would have significantly hindered families struggling to get by. In 2022, she authored a bill that would have required utility providers to offer a ‘budget billing’ payment plan, ensuring customers avoid fluctuating fees. Additionally, it would have required annual data on customer usage that would help legislators craft policy to assist customers with high rates, service disconnections or who have been sent to a collection agency.The achievements Sen. Breaux made during her time at the Statehouse cannot be understated. She served on the Medicaid Advisory Committee, Indiana Recycling Market Development Board, Indiana Commission on Improving the Status of Children and Health and Humans Services Committees of the National Conference of State Legislatures. Sen. Breaux was also the Senate Assistant Democratic Leader from 2012 to 2020. The National Foundation for Women Legislators (NFWL) awarded her the 2023 Elected Woman of Excellence Award.
Sen. Breaux’s entire career was selflessly spent bettering the lives of her constituents, and her loss is deeply felt in our legislature, and in our caucus.”
Earl Harris, Indiana BLC Chair and State Rep.(D-East Chicago)
IU’s Little Five quickly approaches
Indiana University’s Little 500 is the largest collegiate bike race in the United States, widely known as “The World’s Greatest College Weekend” — more than 25,000 people travel to Bloomington each year to watch the race and participate in the week’s festivities.
In 2024, the Little 500 will take place on April 19 & 20 at Bill Armstrong Stadium, also home to Indiana University Men’s & Women’s Soccer. The 36th running of the women’s race will begin at 4pm on Friday, April 19, and the 73rd running of the men’s race will begin at 2 pm on Saturday, April 20.
The university suggests purchasing your tickets in advance of the Little 500 weekend here. For adults, advance tickets are $40.00. For child ages 3-12 tickets are $15.00. Child 2 & under, free. Student advance pricing is $35.00. One ticket is good for both the men’s and women’s races.
The Little 500 is a week-long experience complete with giveaways, auxiliary events including an annual concert, celebrity appearances, and, of course, the famed bike races. The races themselves were originally modeled after the Indianapolis 500 and now include both a men’s and women’s race. Riders compete in four-person teams around the quarter-mile track at Bill Armstrong Stadium, the men’s teams racing for 200 laps and the women’s teams racing for 100 laps.
Indiana challenges ‘Big Pharma’
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita files a lawsuit against drug manufacturers and Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) for inflating insulin prices for Hoosiers.
Approximately 640,435 Indiana residents have been diagnosed with diabetes and over 1.7 million people are pre-diabetic. It is the leading cause of blindness, kidney failure, and lower limb amputations. It is the seventh leading cause of death in Indiana despite the availability of effective treatment.
“Diabetes is a public health crisis for Hoosiers,” Attorney General Rokita said. “This is a serious condition that requires insulin, putting patients in the impossible position of choosing between health and financial security.”
The lawsuit filed by Attorney General Rokita includes drug manufacturers Sanofi-Aventis and Novo Nordisk and PBMs CaremarkPCS Health, Express Scripts, CVS Health Corp., and Optum RX for conspiring to raise prices on insulin medications by more than 1000% in the last decade alone despite manufacturing costs decreasing.
According to the Complaint, every year, the direct medical expenses associated with diabetes care in Indiana are an estimated five billion dollars. If everyone with diabetes could adhere to their medication protocol, over $8.3 billion in direct medical costs would be saved annually.
This is just one of the many times Attorney General Rokita’s Office has taken on dishonest companies who harm Hoosier patients regularly. Since Rokita took office, he has obtained a $66.5 million settlement against Centene for their failure to disclose true costs, won a $573 million multi-state settlement against McKinsey & Company for its role in “turbocharging” the opioid epidemic with Purdue Pharma, and secured nearly $7 million in an Indiana Medicaid fraud settlement against Mallinckrodt.
This Week in Hoosier History
1824 – The Fall Creek Massacre
On this day, a group of white settlers attacked and killed nine peaceful Native Americans in what is now Pendleton, Indiana. The atrocity quickly gained national attention, due to the brutality of the crime and fears of reprisal across the mid-west. Government agents travelled to the various tribes and assured them that the killers had been caught and they would face justice.
On December 1st of the same year, James Hudson was the first of many to be sentenced to death by hanging for his part in the massacre. This was the first case of a white settler being sentenced to death for the killing of a Native American in
American history.
In Fall Creek Park in Pendleton, Indiana, a stone marker reads: “Three white men were hung here in 1825 for killing Indians.” In 1991 the Pendleton Historic District, which includes the park and this historical marker, was named to the National Register of Historic Places.
For more local news . . . Check out our archived episodes of What’s Happenin’ and Talkin’ Sports with Nick Jenkinson