U.S. Representatives John Dingell (D-15), Jo Ann Emerson (R-08), Charles Rangel (D-15), Carol Shea-Porter (D-01), and more than 190 of their colleagues in the House introduced a bill that would require the government to negotiate for lower drug prices for American seniors and people with disabilities in the Medicare program. The bill passed the House Jan. 12.

HR4, the Medicare Prescription Drug Negotiation Act of 2007, will help seniors get better prices on prescription medications under Medicare. The current law, written largely at the behest of the pharmaceutical industry, explicitly prohibits Medicare from negotiating for lower prices. 

"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," said Dingell, chair of the committee on energy and commerce. 

"The ability to negotiate the cost of prescription drugs purchased through the Medicare program has the potential to constitute a tremendous savings to taxpayers. Before we ever trim benefits to senior citizens, we must consider the efficiency of the programs that serve them. In many cases, pharmaceutical drugs are gram-for-gram more expensive to the American public than gold. We have a duty to the taxpayer to get the best bang for the buck, especially on costly pharmaceuticals for which the federal government facilitates purchases in such large quantities," said Emerson.

Drug prices under the Medicare prescription drug plan are more than 80 percent higher than prices negotiated by other agencies in the federal government and more than 60 percent higher than prices in Canada.  In 2007, many beneficiaries in private drug plans will see their premiums increase by an average of ten percent, and some premiums will rise more than six-fold if they stay in the same plan.

"As someone who has worked many years with senior citizens, I have seen people forced to choose between buying medications and paying for rent or food," said Shea-Porter. "This is unacceptable in America."              

The Medicare Prescription Drug Legislation of 2003 was passed in the dead of the night with little time for members of Congress to review the hundreds of pages of text involved in such a complex proposal.

Americans overwhelmingly support negotiating for lower prescription drug prices on behalf of Medicare. The bill also has the support of a number of organizations including the Minnesota Senior Federation, AARP, The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, the Consumer's Union, the AFL-CIO and Families USA.

Six of Minnesota's eight House members voted in favor of HR4; two voted against.

FOR:

Collin Peterson
2211 Rayburn HOB, Washington, DC 20515-2307
202/225-2165
• James Oberstar
  2365 Rayburn HOB, Washington, DC 20515-2308
  202/225-6211
• Jim Ramstad
  103 Cannon HOB, Washington, DC 20515-2303
  202/225-2871
• Betty McCollum
  1714 Longworth HOB, Washington, DC 20515-2304
  202/225-6631
• Keith Ellison
  1130 Longworth HOB, Washington, DC 20515-2305
  202/225-4755
• Timothy J. Walz
  1529 Longworth HOB, Washington, DC 20515-2301
  202/225-2472

AGAINST:

• Michele Bachmann
  412 Cannon HOB, Washington, DC 20515
  202/225-2331
• John Kline
  1429 Longworth HOB, Washington, DC 20515-2302
  202/225-2271