District Round-up 08.09.26
Dear Neighbor, Thank you for reading my District Round-up. As your candidate for Pennsylvania’s 13th Congressional District, it is my honor and pleasure to deliver to you where I’ve been and what issues I’ve tackled in the past week. Criss-crossing the counties of Adams, Franklin, Fulton, Bedford, Cambria, Blair, Huntingdon, Mifflin, Juniata, Perry, Cumberland, and Somerset gives me great opportunities to meet with voters, hear what is on your hearts and minds, and the chance to voice my fight for Everyday Americans. If you would like to contribute to my campaign, please donate here: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/beth-farnham-for-congress-1
Healthcare for All!
When you can’t get the $750 injection directly into your eyeball, you will be sad.
Why?
Many thanks to Jane Palmer, Patient Advocacy & Clinical Outreach Manager Pennsylvania Retina Specialists, PC who helped to answer this question on a recent Thursday afternoon.
Because if you suffer retinopathy, a complication of diabetes, which is a pretty common disease in aging Americans, the solution is a monthly ($750-$3,740, actually) sight-saving injection into your eye, which your doctor feels is the best treatment, all in the comfort of your doctor’s office.
Unfortunately, the requirements to use less expensive drugs first, and go through the prior authorization process for Medicare Advantage is so complicated, that those paperwork delays can cost you time, resulting in more vision loss.
(Go ahead and take a gander at that flow chart, attached to this post.)
And more vision loss costs you the thing that more Americans have prized since before this country began.
Independence.
(In case you don’t know, losing independence in this country, especially in rural areas, is DEVASTATING.)
All because you were told you would save a little money choosing Medicare Advantage over regular Medicare.
Of course you may have chosen Medicare Advantage – it covers Medicare A needs, Medicare B, Dental needs, and Vision needs with no premium (except for Part B).
But the reason it’s cheaper for you is because Medicare Advantage has RULES.
And those rules MUST be followed.
So no, you can’t have the injection that will work best immediately for you.
You must go through their step process, trying drugs that don’t work, getting prior authorizations because you tried them, until you can finally have the medication that works.
However, during the months you were forced to try these subpar drugs, the disease progressed, and you lost even more vision.
If you were to skip the paperwork process and pay for the working medication on your own in order to keep your VISION, you would quickly be overwhelmed by the eternal cost of these injections.
The solution?
Healthcare for All.
Healthcare is a human right and every American citizen should be covered. If the United States were to grant healthcare to all of its citizens, the cost of healthcare would not only be thousands of dollars cheaper per capita, but we would live an average of four years longer.
Let’s stop the insanity of our patchwork healthcare system, including Medicare Advantage, so Americans can live long full lives and without medical debt.
If you want to check out what Healthcare for All might look like, take a look at Representative Jayapal’s Medicare for All bill in the comments. That is not necessarily a comprehensive plan, but it gives a national healthcare plan a starting point without reinventing the wheel.
And vote for me, Beth Farnham, on November 3rd, so that I can vote for Healthcare for All.
Together, we #ChooseDemocracy and Good Health!
Relating to Conservative Voters
In the deepest, reddest county in Pennsylvania, the gentleman asked me, “So, how does a politician like you get involved?”
Many thanks to the Fulton County Democratic Committee for hosting a tent at the Fulton County Fair on Thursday evening. I spoke to voters from all corners of the district, even when they said they wouldn’t vote for me.
I answered him as I knew best – by the timeline I had lived.
In August of 2015, I, as a lifelong Republican, had a baby. Yet six months later, amid diaper changes, nursing, and a fitful sleep schedule, Trump, a known grifter who had cheated those who worked for him and cheated multiple spouses, had landed on my radar. He was winning primary elections…and so was Clinton.
“You know,” I said to my (also Republican) husband in February of 2016, “If it ever comes down to an election between Trump and Clinton, I think I’m voting for Clinton.”
“Really?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I responded.
So I told the man that Rob and I had voted for different Republicans in the primary election of 2016 but obviously Trump had won.
We looked at Clinton’s voting record in Congress. Remembering her experience as a First Lady, her education as a lawyer, and her service as former Secretary of State, we were impressed by her experience, education, and competence.
Then, we did the work, engaging friends, family, church members, and every Republican we knew, asking them not to vote for Trump and any Republican who supported him because he was a threat to our national security on a variety of levels.
It didn’t matter. I had voted straight Democrat because every other local Republican stood with Trump, but they voted for Trump and he won. I was in grief for our country. After a healing visit with family, I was ready to DO SOMETHING. I couldn’t stop Trump from swearing in, but I could join the first protest of his presidency. And so I joined the Women’s March in January 2017. Penn Live even captured me holding my pocket Constitution aloft.
After that demonstration, I joined others, and grassroots groups, and I kept voting Democrat, even in the primaries when I had to write in Democratic names on my Republican ballots. After so many votes, I told Rob, “I think I’m a Democrat. I’m going to change my registration.” I did, and a few months later, he did the same.
Years later, I joined the Democratic Committee. When I discovered in 2022 that we didn’t have a Democratic candidate to oppose our election-denier of a US Representative, multimillionaire John Joyce, I ran a write-in campaign. It wasn’t something I had to think about for too long – I love my country.
The gentleman listened to my story, politely nodding, but I felt like I was missing something.
I asked what mattered to him about candidates and he mentioned it was important to learn about our views because he wanted to know if they aligned with his. I pointed out my website on my brochure.
Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling I needed to connect better. I took a chance and stated, “You know John Joyce isn’t just an election denier, he voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that raises Affordable Care Act premiums.”
That was it, I had hit the nail on the head. He lifted his eyes to mine then lowered them, stating that his had gone up. I offered that many had gone up hundreds of dollars per person. His partner, who had been standing quietly by his side, chimed in, “Ours went up 4 times as much. We can’t afford it, so we don’t have health insurance now.”
This, this is the devastation that John Joyce, a dermatologist no less, brings to our 13th Congressional District. John Joyce doesn’t care about the people left in his wake of dangerous votes. He only wants Trump’s favor.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
I asked the gentleman and his significant other to please vote for me. They went away, pretty much nodding, but still keen to review my website which is just fine with me.
Please vote for me, Beth Farnham, on November 3rd.
When you do, you not only #ChooseDemocracy, you choose our local community.
(Note: gentleman from story not pictured)
(Photo credits: Dan Leese and Penn Live)
Measles on the Rise in Pennsylvania!
Measles cases continue to climb in Pennsylvania. In PA-13, the counties of Bedford, Mifflin, and Perry have been affected.
Measles is a highly contagious disease that truly sickens, and even maims or kills children. Sometimes, very young children who recover, suffer years later, the fatal complication of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) and die.
Measles also wipes out immunity from years prior, rendering children more vulnerable to diseases they had previously been vaccinated against like polio and chicken pox.
Please have your children vaccinated by the schedule approved by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
If you’re a Gen-Xer who only received one measles shot like me, please have your doctor test your titer to see if you need a booster.
And please check with other parents about their vaccine philosophy so you can decide about how much you expose your children to those of parents who don’t believe in evidence-based science.
Even the antivaxxer RFK Jr is starting to come around, though it was his anti vaccine rhetoric that contributed to this preventable crisis in the first place.
Together, we #ChooseDemocracy and the good health of our community!
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/6005580-rfk-jr-endorses-measles-vaccine
National Security at Risk!
Our national security is at risk because Republicans in Congress, like our own US Representative, multimillionaire John Joyce, keep approving Trump’s continued hostilities in Iran, dwindling our stockpiles of PATRIOT missiles and THAAD interceptors.
“U.S. has dwindling stockpiles of defensive interceptors and long-range missiles, which has become a pressure point within the administration, and that the U.S. cannot sustain the rate at which it expended precision munitions early in the war with Iran.
U.S. officials said there are limited inventories of the ATACMS and Precision Strike Missiles, and that the most pressing concern involves the number of Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors, which have been used faster than the industry can replace them.”
Please vote for me, Beth Farnham, on November 3rd so I can stop this hemorrhaging of our weaponry.
Together we #CHOOSEDEMOCRACY and national security!
Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/u-s-stockpile-long-range-missiles-nearly-depleted-iran-war
🚨🚨Endorsement Alert🚨🚨
Many thanks to the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO for endorsing my campaign. I am proud to stand with this Labor Union who fights for hard-working Pennsylvania families everyday.
As a Representative in Congress, I will sponsor legislation that protects unions like the Pro Act and the First Amendment to assemble so that Everyday Americans can thrive.
Together, we #ChooseDemocracy!
Franklin Dems Picnic
Many, many thanks to the Franklin County Democratic Committee for hosting today’s lovely picnic. Many thanks also to Campaign Manager Jack Stansbury and Volunteer Angie Somma for coming with me today.
Attendees who braved the storms were immediately rewarded with Democratic fellowship, tasty sandwiches, NO KINGS cookies (thank you, Avril), and sunshine later on. But no matter the weather, Franklin County Dems have the grit, organization, and commitment to make 2026 a banner year for those who love our country.
I was proud to stand with fellow candidates Judge Lori Dumas, Shannon Jacksonforpa, Caleb Donahue, Mayor Shaun Rogers, Mercersburg Borough Council Member Don Palesky, and Straban Township Council Member Ed Deitch.
Up and down the ballot, we are fighting for policies that benefit Everyday Americans, not the ultra-wealthy. We recognize the need for social safety nets like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), quality public education, and Universal Healthcare, not tax breaks for billionaires and trillionaires.
Together, we #ChooseDemocracy !
(Photo credits: Angie Somma and Jack Stansbury)
Scam Alert!
For Franklin County residents, especially –
A text message claims the recipient will be charged with a crime and that they had better pay bail.
“The scam, Meyers says, purports to be from the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas.
Via text, the recipient is warned that they are being charged with failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements. It claims an arrest warrant has been issued and bail set for $12,000 needs to be paid through e-bonds or bitcoin.”
“If you receive such a text or a similar phone call, hang up and call state or local police as well as the Attorney General’s Office at 800-441-2555 or email scams@attorneygeneral.gov.”
Charity of the Week!
Even though charitable donations will not meet the overwhelming need of food assistance and healthcare for lower income Americans, these charities are a stopgap until I am elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and can legislate helpful federal programs as well as prevent a rapacious president from illegally impounding the congressionally-approved funds for those programs.
Please donate to The United Way of Mifflin-Juniata, if you can.
https://www.mjunitedway.org/give
From their website:
“Our mission at United Way of Mifflin-Juniata is to improve people’s lives by mobilizing the caring power of the community. It is our belief that every person should have the opportunity to gain a quality education that leads to a stable job, enough income to support a family through retirement, and good health.”
Comparing and Contrasting Votes on Legislation
Check out how Joyce recently voted, how I would have voted in comparison, and why!
FYI – if you’re having trouble seeing this comparison in your email, please click the option for “Read on Blog” and it will load properly for you.
If you’re like me, you love this country as much as I do and work to make a positive difference. In the midst of this Constitutional Crisis, please consider reaching out to your local Democratic committees or Democratic candidates so that we can strengthen our Democracy instead of letting it slide into fascism. We don’t just #ChooseDemocracy, we choose Pennsylvania, we choose The United States of America, we choose Humanity and I am deeply glad to work along side you. Sincerely, Beth
