| WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Marion Berry (D-AR, 1st) fears were confirmed yesterday as the Administration nearly doubled the estimated cost of the Medicare prescription drug benefit from about $530 billion to $1.2 trillion.
Since the Medicare changes were passed in 2003, Congressman Berry has argued that without the power to negotiate drug prices on behalf of more than 40 million Medicare beneficiaries the cost of the program would be untenable. The bill that eventually was signed into law prohibited the government from negotiating drug prices with manufacturers.
“Once again the President of the United States has betrayed the trust of the American people in order to score a political victory,” Berry said. “The President delivers a budget and omits key spending, presents Medicare reform while hiding its true costs, and promises sweeping education reform and drastically under-funds the program. Every time an issue comes up calling for meaningful debate, this President withholds facts, threatens his dissenters and twists arms in order to score a quick political victory.”
Because of the Medicare bill’s inadequacies, Congressman Berry will be introducing his own bill today, the Medicare Prescription Drug Savings Act. The Act would create a nationwide Prescription Drug Plan (PDP) to be run by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Among other changes to the Medicare Reform bill, the bill requires the Secretary of HHS to negotiate with pharmaceutical manufacturers for lower-priced prescription drugs for seniors by harnessing the bargaining power of millions of Medicare beneficiaries.
The bill also creates an additional choice for seniors: a meaningful nationwide prescription drug plan operated through Medicare.
“Those who voted for the Medicare Reform bill claimed competition would lower the prices of seniors’ prescription drugs – this plan lets those people put their money where their mouths are,” Berry said. “The foundation of my bill is to allow Medicare to compete with the private plans last year’s bill created. We believe because the government has no profit motive and a proven track-record of lower administrative costs than the private sector, Medicare will be able to negotiate the lowest prices for prescription drugs. If private plans are, in fact, better cost-savers, then consumers can select them; we just wanted to provide seniors with another choice – a nationwide drug plan offered by Medicare, not an insurance company.”
The legislation now waits to be reported to a committee by the Republican leadership. |
