MAINE SENIOR
REPORT
January 16, 2007
SPECIAL REPORT
ON CONGRESSIONAL
VOTE ON MEDICARE
PART D
An Information Service of the
Maine Council of Senior Citizens/ARA
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Editor's Note: Both
Maine Congressmen, Mike Michaud and Tom Allen, were co-sponsors of this
legislation and worked hard for its passage.
HOUSE VOTES TO REQUIRE MEDICARE TO
NEGOTIATE DRUG PRICES
Relief may be on the way for the millions of seniors who rely on the
Medicare Part D prescription drug program. Keeping the First 100 Hours
momentum going today, the House passed, on a
255-170 vote, a
bill that will
require Medicare to negotiate with drug companies for lower prices.
The bill (H.R. 4),
introduced by Reps. John Dingell (D-Mich.) and Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.),
would repeal the Bush administration-backed provision of the
2003 prescription
drug law that expressly forbids Medicare from negotiating lower prices for
seniors.
Says Edward J. Coyle,
Executive Director of the
Alliance for Retired
Americans:
Today’s vote…is the
triumph of the public interest over the special interest. It is the first
step toward making prescription drugs more affordable for our nation’s
retirees.
In an AFL-CIO blog
quick poll this week, 95 percent said Medicare should negotiate drug
prices. Other recent polls show that over 90 percent of Americans want
Medicare to have the power to negotiate with the pharmaceutical industry.
But the Bush
administration yesterday said the overwhelming majority of Americans was
wrong and threatened to veto any bill that requires drug price
negotiations.
Says Dingell:
Seniors, individuals with
disabilities and the taxpayers of America were done a disservice when the
Medicare prescription drug bill passed with a provision that prohibited
the Secretary of Health and Human Services from negotiating with drug
manufacturers for lower prescription drug prices.
The purchasing power of 40
million Medicare beneficiaries will allow the secretary to achieve lower
prescription drug prices.
The pharmaceutical
industry has joined the Bush White House in vigorously opposing lower
prices through negotiations—and already has launched a massive lobbying
and PR campaign aimed at the Senate, which will take up the bill soon.
Drug industry lobbyists have buttonholed lawmakers, especially newly
elected members, according to news reports.
This month alone, the
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhARMA) spent
more than $1 million on full-page newspaper ads touting the success of
the existing Medicare drug system, according to The Washington Post.
Further:
Drug companies spent more
on lobbying than any other industry between 1998 and 2005—$900 million,
according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. They donated
a total of $89.9 million in the same period to federal candidates and
party committees, nearly three-quarters of it to Republicans.
The money spent on the
campaign against requiring Medicare to negotiate drug prices is a drop in
the bucket compared with what Big Pharma could rake in under the status
quo. According to The New York Times:
For big drug companies,
the new Medicare prescription drug benefit is proving to be a financial
windfall larger than even the most optimistic Wall Street analysts have
predicted.
Last fall, a
report from House Democrats showed drug manufacturers’ profits
increased by more than $8 billion in the first six months after the
Medicare drug plan went into effect.
In a letter
to House members urging passage of the bill, William Samuel, AFL-CIO
legislative director, wrote:
Negotiating Medicare drug
prices makes sense and is perfectly consistent with program reimbursement
for all other health care services, including hospital and physician
services. Furthermore, the Department of Veteran Affairs and state
Medicaid programs use their buying power to negotiate lower drug prices
than those available to Medicare beneficiaries.
While profits soar, it’s
the seniors who pay the price. Says Rangel:
Negotiating for lower
prescription drug prices is a long-overdue step toward making health care
more affordable for Medicare beneficiaries.
Michaud Votes to Require Medicare to Negotiate with Drug Companies for
Lower Drug Prices
WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Congressman Mike Michaud voted for H.R. 4, the
Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act. This bipartisan bill,
of which Michaud is a strong supporter and cosponsor, would require the
Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to
negotiate lower drug prices on behalf of those who are enrolled in
Medicare prescription drug plans. The current Medicare prescription drug
law explicitly prohibits HHS from using the strength of Medicare's 43
million beneficiaries to negotiate prescription drug price discounts.
"When the Medicare drug plan was being assembled, the pharmaceutical lobby
convinced its authors to write a rule into the law that forbids ever
negotiating for lower cost prescriptions in Medicare," said Michaud.
"That was a blatant, multibillion dollar giveaway to big drug companies.
These drug companies charge American consumers far more than anyone else
in the world."
The bill that passed today provides Medicare broad discretion on how to
best implement the negotiating authority and achieve price discounts for
Medicare beneficiaries.
"This is a common sense measure that could result in serious cost savings
for seniors and the government," said Michaud. "The Veterans
Administration already uses their bargaining clout to obtain lower drug
prices for the patients they represent. So do states, every other
industrialized country in the world, Fortune 500 companies, and large
pharmacy chains. HHS should have the same ability for Medicare
beneficiaries - it's long overdue."
Michaud has long been supportive of prescription drug price negotiation.
As one of his first acts in Congress, Michaud introduced the America Rx
bill, which would allow the federal government to negotiate lower
prescription drug prices for all Americans who lack adequate coverage,
regardless of income. It was based on the innovative approach that was
taken at the state level in Maine.
In addition, Congressman Michaud and Senator Snowe joined together to
approach the pharmaceutical companies to find a way to help people in
Maine get access to cheaper prescription drugs. Working together, they
created the Rx Cares for ME Program. This program pulls together the many
existing patient assistance programs that provide low cost or free
medicines to qualified individuals. Applying to the hundreds of existing
programs had previously been a confusing and difficult process, one that
prevented most consumers from finding a discount that worked for them. Rx
Cares for ME helped solve these problems. It includes a website (www.RxCaresForME.org)
and toll free number (1-888-477-2669) specifically designed to give
Mainers a single, central point of access for patient assistance programs.
ALLEN SAYS ACTION IS JUST
"YANKEE COMMON SENSE"
Washington, D.C.—U.S. Representative Tom Allen issued the following
statement today as the House considered H.R. 4, legislation to require the
federal government to negotiate lower prices for Medicare Part D drug
beneficiaries:
“Today’s passage of H.R. 4 is an historic milestone for Maine and
America’s seniors who have prescription drug coverage under Medicare Part
D. The American taxpayers who fund the program are also well served by
this bill. In September 1998, after I had heard from constituents who
could not afford the medicines their doctors prescribe, I proposed the
first legislation in Congress to negotiate lower drug prices for seniors
through Medicare. Mainers understood that proposal because dickering for
the best price is just common sense for Yankee traders like us. When
Congress didn’t act, we created Maine Rx, the first state program to
negotiate lower prices, and when the drug companies challenged our law, we
fought all the way to the Supreme Court and won.
“Congress finally passed Medicare Part D, but it was a version crafted by
and for the drug industry. Now, its defenders are claiming that Medicare
Part D is a success because it isn’t costing as much as we thought it
would. But in truth, the real winners are on Wall Street. Last November,
The New York Times reported ‘for big drug companies the new Medicare
prescription drug benefit is proving to be a financial windfall, larger
than even the most optimistic Wall Street analysts had predicted.’ Well,
if it’s a financial windfall for PhRMA (Pharmaceutical Research and
Manufacturers of America), it’s a lousy deal for the American taxpayers.
“H.R. 4 will be a good deal for America’s taxpayers and a good deal for
America’s seniors. I welcome House passage and hope the Senate will not
block this needed legislation.”
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