Making the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Work for Seniors
A number of North Dakotans have expressed their frustration and confusion with the new Medicare prescription drug benefit. While Senator Dorgan believes this benefit will help a number of seniors get needed drug coverage, he does have some significant concerns about the program.
The new prescription drug coverage does nothing to address the rising cost of prescription drugs, and it actually prevents the government from negotiating with pharmaceutical manufacturers to offer seniors drugs at a lower cost. A recent study from the AARP found that the cost of the drugs most frequently used by seniors increased by 6.3 percent from June 2005 to June 2006 – nearly twice the rate of inflation.
During the last Congress, Senator Dorgan introduced legislation with several colleagues to authorize the government to negotiate directly with the drug companies. Unfortunately, the former Senate Republican leadership blocked consideration of this proposal. Senator Dorgan is hopeful that the 110th Congress will quickly act on this legislation and other common sense proposals to make the new drug benefit work for seniors.
Read Senator Dorgan’s Common Sense Reforms to Fix the Medicare Drug Benefit
