Kaptur Wants to Make Diapers More Affordable

By: 13abc (and many other news outlets)
June 17, 2016

They’re something every family with children need but many are struggling to afford them.

“The average cost of diapers is about 1,000 dollars a year,” Ohio Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-9) said.

Rep. Kaptur is working to make diapers more available to every day Americans. According to the National Diaper Bank Network, 1 in 3 American families lacks a supply of clean dry diapers and 5.3 million children younger than three live in low-income families. Kaptur said it’s a crisis that puts these kids at risk, particularly in her home district.

“Ohio has one of the two highest infant mortality rates in the country so that gives you a sense of where we start,” Kaptur added.

According to the National Diaper Bank Network, disposable diapers cost about $70 to $80 per month per baby. That’s up to nearly $1,000 a year.
Buying diapers at a pharmacy or convenience store like this one, rather than a big box store, can greatly increase the cost. Kaptur’s diaper bill works to change that.
“It really aims to engage our pharmacies, places where people buy these supplies our supermarkets, and getting them to offer them at prices that are bulk purchased,” Kaptur added.

Rep. Kaptur said the most important thing about this bill is to protect young children.

“That we have healthy children, they are our future,” Kaptur said.

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