| As hardworking families continue to get squeezed by rising prices, new reporting reveals how Brad Finstad repeatedly voted to raise Minnesotans’ health care costs while taking money from pharmaceutical lobbyists.
Get the facts:
- On August 12, 2022, Finstad voted against the bill that capped insulin costs and extended ACA subsidies — the same day he was sworn into Congress.
- In December 2023, Finstad “accepted $1,500 from a lobbyist representing pharmacy benefit managers before voting against a bill that would impose price transparency reforms on the industry.”
- In 2025, Finstad cast the deciding vote for the Big, Ugly Bill which will kick nearly 15,000 Minnesotans off of Medicaid from in his own district.
- Finstad received $2,000 from pharmaceutical industry lobbyists “immediately before and after voting for OBBB.”
DCCC Spokesperson Katie Smith:
“Brad Finstad made his record clear the second he was sworn into Congress: special interests first, Minnesota families last. Minnesotans are sick and tired of being left behind by Finstad, and they’re ready to elect Jake Johnson in November.”
Read more:
American Journal: Finstad voted against lower drug costs on first day in Congress
- Minnesota Rep. Brad Finstad voted against lowering prescription drug costs on his very first day in Congress. It was one of many stands he would take against affordable health care.
- Finstad was sworn into the House on Aug. 12, 2022, after winning the special election to replace deceased Rep. Jim Hagedorn. That same day, Finstad voted against the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which capped insulin costs for Medicare recipients at $35 a month.
- The law also extended tax subsidies that helped about 89,000 Minnesotans purchase insurance plans through the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).
- Finstad described his vote against the IRA as “common sense.”
- Finstad went on to support the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB), which will cut $1 trillion from Medicare over the next decade, primarily to fund tax breaks for wealthy people and big corporations. About 15,000 of Finstad’s own constituents are at risk of losing health insurance as a result.
- Campaign finance disclosures reveal that Finstad received $2,000 from pharmaceutical industry lobbyists immediately before and after voting for OBBB.
- A similar dynamic played out in December 2023 when Finstad accepted $1,500 from a lobbyist representing pharmacy benefit managers before voting against a bill that would impose price transparency reforms on the industry. Finstad was one of only 40 House Republicans to oppose the legislation.
- Pharmacy benefit managers are third-party administrators that work as middlemen between insurance plans, pharmacies, and drug manufacturers. Critics say the industry is incentivized to drive up drug costs and limit patients’ access to care.
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