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Senior Citizen Politics
Senior Advocates, Democrats Say Fight Not Over for
Negotiated Medicare Drug Prices
AARP says it will continue to fight to make
prescription drugs more affordable
 April 19, 2007- Although Republicans yesterday
blocked Senate Bill (S.3), which would allow Medicare to negotiate
better prices on prescription drugs for senior citizens, senior advocacy
groups, such as AARP, and Democrats say the fight is not over.
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Shows prices grew almost four times faster that
inflation - April 19, 2007
Republicans Block Senate Bill Allowing Negotiating
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Democrats fall short of 60 votes needed for floor
consideration -
April 18, 2007
Democrats May Lack Votes to End Debate on Bill
Allowing Negotiations on Medicare Drugs
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know how senators vote -
April 17, 2007
Bill to Negotiate for Better Medicare Drug Prices
Passed by Finance Committee
Amended S. 3 expected to go to full Senate next
week - April 13, 2007
AARP Starts Media Campaign Urging Lawmakers to Allow
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Pharmaceutical Company Misdeeds Being Exposed in
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Opinion Pieces Examine Medicare Prescription Drug
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Read more
on
Politics for Senior Citizens |
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"Despite the outcome in the Senate today,
prescription drug affordability remains a high priority for AARP and its
members. The association will continue to fight to make prescription
drugs more affordable for all Americans," AARP said in a statement
released yesterday
"Despite the support of a majority of the U.S.
Senate, and nearly 90 percent of voting-age Americans, S.3, The Medicare
Fair Prescription Drug Price Act of 2007, was blocked from coming up for
a vote on the Senate floor today," the statement said.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said, "In
blocking this bill from even being debated, Senate Republicans have
resorted to obstructionism in an effort to protect the drug industry at
the expense of our seniors."
Reid (D-Nev.) changed his vote to "nay" after it
became clear that the cloture vote was going to fail. Voting against
cloture and making a floor motion to reconsider allows Reid to bring the
bill back for another vote in the future
"This common-sense bill makes Medicare drug plans
more accountable, improves information about which drugs are effective,
and empowers the Secretary of Health and Human Services to use the
bargaining power of Medicare's 43 million beneficiaries," Reid added.
The Bush Administration has never been shy about
expanding its executive authority. Yet when Congress tries to give the
Administration more flexibility in negotiating drug prices, they are
fighting it at every step."
David Sloane, AARP Director of Government Relations
said, "Allowing Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices is common
sense, and could have led to more affordable drugs for Medicare
beneficiaries and lower costs for all taxpayers.
"Instead, a minority of the Senate decided to block
consideration of a bill that has the support of the vast majority of
their constituents. Given the overwhelming support for giving Medicare
the power to negotiate, the will of the people will eventually be
heard."
Sloane continued, "Pharmaceutical manufacturers
have given more than $20 million in campaign contributions for the last
two cycles alone. They followed that up over the last few months with
misleading polling and disinformation aimed at scaring older Americans
into preserving the exorbitant profits that pharmaceutical companies
make on brand name drugs.
"Senators should know this issue is not going
away. No amount of campaign money can trump the will of 90 percent of
Americans."
Last week, AARP alerted Senators that the
association is recording key votes on S. 3 and will be informing its
members of how their Senators voted.
The House has already passed a bill that will
mandate Health and Human Services to negotiate with drug makers for
better prices. But, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also jumped into the
Senate fight, complaining that the American people lost and the special
interests won.
"Democrats will keep fighting until this bill is
signed into law and seniors and people with disabilities have access to
affordable prescription drugs," Pelosi said.
Senate Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, predicted
that the Senate would vote again on the issue, perhaps as an amendment
to a spending bill or other measure. The fight will go on, he said.
One vote the Democrats may add could come from Sen.
John McCain. An aide to Mr. McCain said he was campaigning in South
Carolina and would have voted with the Democrats, according to the New
York Times.
The Department of Veterans Affairs is able to
negotiate for lower-priced drugs, said Majority Leader Reid. H.M.O.s
can negotiate. Wal-Mart can negotiate. Why in the world shouldnt
Medicare be able to do that?
A 2003 law prohibits Medicare from negotiating or
setting drug prices or establishing a uniform list of covered drugs, or
formulary.
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More from Daily Report,
KaiserNetwork.org
Senate Blocks Legislation That Would Allow
Federal Negotiations of Medicare Prescription Drug Prices
April 19, 2007 - Senate Democrats on Wednesday failed to
obtain the 60 votes needed to begin to debate
legislation (S
3) that would allow the government to negotiate prices
with pharmaceutical companies under the Medicare
prescription drug benefit, the
Washington Post reports (Murray, Washington Post, 4/19).
The 55-42 vote for cloture included the support of all
Senate Democrats and Republican Sens. Norm Coleman (Minn.),
Susan Collins (Maine), Chuck Hagel (Neb.), Gordon Smith
(Ore.), Olympia Snowe (Maine) and Arlen Specter (Pa.)
(Johnson, CongressDaily, 4/19).
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) changed his vote
to "nay" after it became clear that the cloture vote was
going to fail. Voting against cloture and making a floor
motion to reconsider allows Reid to bring the bill back for
another vote in the future (Young
The Hill, 4/19).
Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.), a
co-sponsor of the bill, said, "It's beyond me why the Senate
would not choose to stand up for seniors." Referring to more
expansive House-approved legislation (HR
4) that would require the
HHS secretary to negotiate Medicare drug prices, Baucus
said, "Concerns about a bill from the House should not
frighten senators into silence on an issue this important"
(Armstrong, CQ Today, 4/18).
Reid said, "The
Department of Veterans Affairs is able to negotiate for
lower-priced drugs. HMOs can negotiate.
Wal-Mart can negotiate. Why in the world shouldn't
Medicare be able to do that?" Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas)
criticized the bill, saying it was "a step down the road to
a single-payer, government-run health care system."
Senate Finance Committee ranking member Chuck Grassley
(R-Iowa) said that HHS "has had very little experience and a
dismal track record" at determining what to pay for drugs,
adding, "Private competition works" (Pear,
New York Times, 4/19).
Looking Ahead
"Few experts believe that the Senate vote will quell demands
for government intervention to bring down drug prices," even
though the Medicare prescription drug benefit "has proved
popular, and it is costing less than initially estimated,"
the
Los Angeles Times reports (Alonso-Zaldivar, Los Angeles
Times, 4/19).
Baucus said that there "will be a time" to revisit the issue
(Henderson,
Boston Globe, 4/19). House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)
said, "Democrats will keep fighting until this bill is
signed into law and seniors and people with disabilities
have access to affordable prescription drugs" (The Hill,
4/19).
AARP, which has lobbied in support of the bill, said,
"Senators should know this issue is not going away. No
amount of campaign money can trump the will of 90% of
Americans" (Freking,
AP/Detroit Free Press, 4/19). Ken Johnson, senior vice
president of the
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America --
which opposes the legislation -- said, "This issue is not
going away."
He added, "Every time it pops up ... it gives us an
opportunity to remind Americans, as well as Congress, that
the Medicare prescription drug program has been a resounding
success so far" (The Hill, 4/19). The
Congressional Budget Office has said that both the
Senate and House proposals "would have a negligible effect
on federal spending" unless the HHS secretary were allowed
to use a formulary or other tools to lower prices. President
Bush has said he would veto either piece of legislation (New
York Times, 4/19).
Drug Prices Rising, Study Finds
In related news,
Families USA on Wednesday released a study finding that
prices for the 15 most popular prescription drugs provided
by Medicare increased an average of 9.2% during the last
year at the nation's five largest Medicare drug providers,
CQ HealthBeat reports. For the study, Families USA
compared the lowest drug prices charged by
United Healthcare,
Humana,
WellPoint-Unicare,
Member Health and
WellCare in April 2006 and April 2007.
The findings are based on prices that the insurers reported
to
CMS. Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, in
the release said, "Contrary to promises made last year by
the administration, Medicare Part D prices skyrocketed last
year, ... making drugs increasingly unaffordable for seniors
and ... fleecing America's taxpayers."
CMS spokesperson Jeff Nelligan in a statement said that the
report "neglects the generous cost-sharing assistance
provided by the Part D benefit and contradicts other
analyses which suggest that Part D has insulated Medicare
beneficiaries from real increases in drug prices." Nelligan
added that "90% of beneficiaries are enrolled in Part D
plans with flat copays that are locked in for the year"
(Carey, CQ HealthBeat, 4/18).
Broadcast Coverage
Three broadcast programs reported on the Senate vote.
Summaries appear below.
● American Public Media's "Marketplace":
The segment includes comments from Bob Laszewski of
Health Policy and Strategy Associates, Drew Nannis of
AARP and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) (Palmer, "Marketplace,"
American Public Media, 4/18). Audio and a transcript of the
segment are available
online.
● C-SPAN's "Washington
Journal": The segment includes a discussion with Sen.
Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) ("Washington Journal," C-SPAN, 4/19).
Video of the segment is available
online.
● NPR's "All
Things Considered": The segment includes comments from
Baucus, Grassley, Snowe, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) and Wyden (Rovner,
"All Things Considered," NPR, 4/18). Audio of the segment is
available
online.
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