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Prescription drugs are an indispensable element of
modern medicine and are essential to the health and
well being of millions of Americans. They not only
treat illness, but they can also prevent or delay
the onset of disease. Access to these lifesaving
drugs is vital for all Americans and that is why
many of us in Congress worked to make prescription
drug coverage a part of the Medicare program.
Unfortunately, while
the average senior could potentially save about
$1,000 per year under the new Medicare drug benefit,
the rapidly escalating price of prescription drugs
threatens to undermine the very drug benefit
Congress passed. Indeed, the Government
Accountability Office (GAO) has reported that prices
for existing prescription drugs have been rising at
two to three times the inflation rate. This trend
has serious implications for our seniors whose
access to their needed medications could be
significantly reduced all while dramatically
increasing the overall cost to the federal
government. If this Medicare prescription drug
program is going to succeed then it is absolutely
imperative that we manage the costs of this program
to ensure that our seniors have access to affordable
medications and that our taxpayer dollars are being
spent wisely.
When I voted for the
Medicare prescription drug benefit in 2004, I said
that this legislation was far from perfect and that
I would work to make improvements upon it. That is
why I joined with Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) in
introducing the Medicare Enhancement for Needed
Drugs (MEND) Act. This legislation directly
addresses the crisis of skyrocketing drugs by
granting the Secretary of the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS) the specific
authority to negotiate lower prices for Medicare
drugs.
If the federal
government is going to be paying for the Medicare
drugs of our seniors, then it only makes sense that
we should utilize its tremendous purchasing power to
get the best prices for those essential
medications. Given the overwhelming concern and
confusion at the outset of this new program, I
believe this is a common sense measure that will
assure seniors that they will receive better value
for their dollar.
Our seniors agree. In
fact, 80 percent of seniors favor changing the law
to allow the Secretary to participate in negotiating
drug prices. And the AARP has also endorsed this
approach as a way to keep the drug benefit
affordable.
For example, if 29
million people enrolled in the Medicare prescription
drug program, and 1 in 4 of them use a single source
“blockbuster” drug, like say Lipitor, with a monthly
cost of $250, then the annual cost for that single
product would exceed $21 billion. That is a
staggering amount. In fact, if we fail to save on
this drug then all prescription drug plans, our
beneficiaries, and the taxpayer would bear that
tremendous burden. But if the Secretary of HHS
could help these plans garner a 10 percent discount
on any one drug, the annual savings could amount to
$2.18 billion. Now, I know some people in
Washington might think that isn’t huge savings, but
I think most people in Maine would agree that that
is a huge difference.
Fortunately, earlier
this month, the Senate took a momentous step forward
in advancing my proposal by adopting an amendment
that I put forward to the Fiscal Year 2007 Budget
Resolution that is based on my legislation. This
provision puts the Medicare program on the path to
more affordable drugs once and for all.
At a time when we are
facing severe budget challenges, we simply cannot
afford to defer action on the cost of the Medicare
drug benefit. The fact is that we can address this
problem, and meet our commitment to our seniors by
allowing the HHS Secretary, who is responsible for
the implementation and success of this benefit, to
advocate on behalf of beneficiaries. I personally
pledge to continue to advocate for prescription drug
negotiations for Medicare beneficiaries.
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