FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:  Russ Levsen, 202-226-4449

 HERSETH : MEDICARE LEGISLATION NEEDS FIX TO LOWER PRESCRIPTION DRUG PRICES

 Co-sponsors H.R. 3707 to Allow Medicare to Negotiate on Behalf of Millions of Beneficiaries

June 23, 2004, Washington, DC – Rep. Stephanie Herseth today fulfilled a promise to fight to allow Medicare to negotiate for lower prescription drugs prices on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries.  Herseth co-sponsored H.R. 3707, which authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to leverage bargaining power and help ensure a fair price for our seniors’ prescription drugs.

Herseth said, “The high cost of prescription drugs is one of the largest problems facing our country, and I believe that last year’s Medicare drug legislation does more for pharmaceutical companies than it does for seniors.  By encouraging Medicare to use its massive market power to negotiate for lower prices, we can give seniors across the country the fair price they deserve for the medicines they need.”

Herseth noted that other large employers including the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense are able to use market power to negotiate fair discounts for seniors.  She believes it is wrong that the current legislation, the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, specifically prohibits HHS from negotiating with drug companies to reduce the price of drugs.

“The current law contains a provision purposefully inserted to help drug companies keep their prices, and their profits, high,” Herseth added.  “Today, we are taking a first step in the fight to lower the cost of prescription drugs for all South Dakota seniors.” 

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