|
E-mail this page to a friend!
Senior Citizen Politics
Democrats Will 'Mandate' Negotiations for Medicare
Prescription Drugs: Pelosi
Bill one of six to be
passed in first 100 days of new Congress
 December
15, 2006 - Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday at
a briefing outlined priorities for Democrats in the first 100 hours of
the 110th Congress and said they will seek to pass legislation that
would require
HHS to
negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies on the prices of
medications under the Medicare prescription drug benefit,
CQ HealthBeat
reports.
According to CQ HealthBeat, "There had been some
speculation that Democrats might merely grant HHS negotiating authority,
not mandate it."
Pelosi said that the legislation, one of the "Six
for '06" bills that Democrats will seek to pass in the first 100 hours
of the 110th Congress, would provide the HHS secretary with "the power,
not only that, the mandate to negotiate for lower prices."
Democrats will move the six bills, which include
legislation that would increase federal funding for embryonic stem cell
research, directly to the House floor for consideration, Pelosi said.
President Bush "seems almost certain" to veto both of the health care
bills in the event that Congress approves them, CQ HealthBeat reports (CQ
HealthBeat, 12/14).
Editorial
"One word sums up House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's plans to push legislation
to allow the federal government to negotiate prescription drug prices
with pharmaceutical companies: Bravo," a
San Jose Mercury
News editorial states.
| |
Medicare Drug Program News
Large Majority of Americans Want Medicare to
Negotiate Better Drug Prices
Democrats have pledged congressional action to
allow it
December 11, 2006 – An overwhelming majority of
Americans – Democrats, independents and Republicans - support
Congressional action that will allow Medicare to negotiate with
pharmaceutical companies for lower drug prices for senior citizens,
according to a new poll released by the Kaiser Family Foundation. It is
a pledge Democrats made in the recent congressional
elections.
Read more...
|
|
"Critics argue that if prices drop, drug companies
won't be able to continue developing new lifesaving drugs," but
"taxpayers fund about 20% ($8.5 billion) of all the research and
development of prescription drugs in the United States," the editorial
states.
"That investment should be applauded," the
editorial states, adding, "But it also means that the pharmaceutical
industry should be listening harder when American consumers call for
bulk purchasing of prescription drugs that taxpayer money helped
develop."
According to the editorial, "Pelosi will have her
work cut out for her" in her efforts to pass the legislation because
pharmaceutical companies "continue to spend more than $150 million a
year on their lobbying efforts" (San Jose Mercury News, 12/15).
Click to More Senior News on the
Front Page
Copyright: SeniorJournal.com |
November 30, 2006 – As the new year approaches and
the new Democrat Congress considers their agenda, the hot button issues
for senior citizens and older baby boomers are far down the list of
importance for most Americans. Two recent polls – Harris and Gallup –
show Social Security and Medicare are not among the most important
issues.