U.S. Senate
must allow Medicare to negotiate prescription
drugs prices ...Statement from Robert M. Hayes,
president of the Medicare Rights Center, a
national consumer service organization:
The U.S. Senate has a second chance to do the
right thing and choose the interests of 43
million older and disabled Americans with
Medicare, as well as taxpayers, over the
interests of the global pharmaceutical industry.
Every savvy consumer knows that eliminating the
middle man and buying in bulk will lower
prescription drug costs. Prescription drugs
remain unaffordable for many older and disabled
Americans enrolled in Medicare private drug
plans. While the drug cartel has spent tens of
millions of dollars spreading myths to prevent
Medicare from negotiating for lower prescription
drug prices, facts trump myths.
In 2003,
Congress passed the law that added a drug
benefit to Medicare, but prohibited the
government from negotiating for lower prices
with drug manufacturers. The Medicare drug
benefit (Part D) is only available through
private insurers, which individually
negotiate drug prices for their members.
Many in Congress now want to eliminate that
prohibition and allow Medicare to use its
substantial market power—43 million people
with Medicare—to lower drug prices under
Part D.
In response, the
drug manufacturer’s trade association, PhARMA,
is spending millions on lobbyists and
advertisements to convince Congress and the
public that Medicare cannot save more than the
private plans and that Medicare negotiating drug
prices will limit people’s access to medicines.
A study released by the Institute for America’s
Future in April 2007 dispels that argument,
finding that allowing Medicare to negotiate
lower prices could save $30 billion a year.
To shed further
light on PhARMA’s misinformation campaign, three
consumer advocate groups, the Medicare Rights
Center, Public Citizen and the National
Legislative Association on Prescription Drug
Prices, joined forces on a joint campaign.
“Truth is the Best Medicine” answers the
pharmaceutical industry’s mythmaking in
opposition to drug price negotiations under
Medicare.
Myth 1: Requiring Medicare to negotiate drug
prices will cut off funding for the research and
development (R&D) of new lifesaving drugs.
Myth 2: Part D is working well and there is no
need to change it. Myth 3: Formulary management
and limitations on drug prices in other
countries discourage research into new
treatments and restrict access to necessary
medicines.
Myth 4: Direct-to-consumer (DTC) drug
advertising educates patients and improves their
knowledge of available medicines. Myth 5: The
newest, most expensive drug is the best one for
me. Myth 6: I can rely on my doctors always to
prescribe the best drug.
yth 7: Prescription coverage from the Department
of Veterans Affairs (VA) is overly restrictive,
demonstrating that a drug benefit option under
Original Medicare would hinder access to
medically necessary drugs.
Myth 8: Pharmaceutical industry research drives
innovation in new medicines.
Myth 9: The private sector does a better job
than the government in negotiating drug prices.
Get the facts that dispel the myths at
http://www.medicarerights.org/Truth_Best_Medicine.pdf
The
National Legislative Association on Prescription
Drug Prices (NLARx) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit
organization of state legislators from across
the country who advocate for lowering
prescription drug costs and increasing access to
affordable medicines (www.nlarx.com).
The Medicare
Rights Center (MRC) is the largest independent
source of health care information and assistance
in the United States for people with Medicare.
Founded in 1989, MRC helps older adults and
people with disabilities get good, affordable
health care (www.medicarerights.org).
Public Citizen
is a national, nonprofit consumer advocacy
organization founded in 1971 to represent
consumer interests in Congress, the executive
branch and the courts (www.citizen.org).
