Dear Friend, As you may know, I opposed final passage of H.R. 1, legislation to add a prescription drug benefit to the Medicare program. It was a very difficult vote, as I have worked for years to add a prescription drug benefit to Medicare for all seniors. I opposed final passage of H.R. 1 because it will result in seniors paying dearly for a modest benefit that weakens their traditional Medicare benefits. I also opposed this legislation because it does nothing to address the high cost of prescription drugs. In fact, the conference report for H.R. 1 included language expressly forbidding the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) from negotiating with drug companies to reduce the price of drugs for Medicare beneficiaries.

I am committed, however, to improving and refining this new law so that seniors will get the benefit they expect and deserve. For this reason, I recently introduced H.R. 3707, the Medicare's Equitable Drugs for Seniors (MEDS) Act. This bipartisan legislation, if enacted into law, will help reduce the cost of prescription drugs for all American seniors.

Medicare, like large employers and the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense, should be able to use market power to negotiate fair discounts for seniors. Currently, each of the 40 million Medicare beneficiaries in America represents a one person buying entity, giving individual seniors no leverage to negotiate for better prices. Medicare should be able to negotiate better prices on behalf of those seniors.

H.R. 3707 would give the Secretary of HHS explicit authority to negotiate lower pharmaceutical prices on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries, allowing seniors to utilize their market power to benefit from lower prices. A bipartisan coalition of 153 cosponsors has voiced support for this bill, and it is a top legislative priority.

Please be assured that I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress to reduce the high cost of prescription drugs.

DENNIS MOORE
Member of Congress