“My colleagues and I are already hard at work to undo the so-called prescription drug benefit that I voted against but the President signed into law,” said Ross. “One of the least sensible inclusions in the law is language that actually prohibits the federal government from negotiating with the drug manufacturers to lower drug costs. That is why I have signed on to sponsor two separate bills that would reverse that provision, and give the federal government the explicit ability to negotiate for lower pharmaceutical prices on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries.”

Ross is supporting the Medicare's Equitable Drugs for Seniors Act of 2004 (H.R. 3707), which would reverse the provision of the Medicare Prescription Drug law that prohibits the federal government from using its collective purchasing power to negotiate with drug companies to lower prescription drug costs. 

Ross is also a co-sponsor of the Medicare Prescription Drugs Savings Act, which would permit the government to negotiate with drug companies and create a permanent, Medicare-administered prescription drug plan. The current law’s dependence on private health drug plans will leave Arkansas’s nearly 260,000 rural seniors without an adequate safety net.  Generally, private health insurance plans have not been available to America’s rural seniors.  Ensuring seniors’ access to quality, affordable prescription drug coverage is an important goal.  

Finally, Ross encourages all his constituents who have access to the Internet to visit his website, where they can calculate how much of a savings - if any - they will receive on prescription drugs under the new Medicare law. The calculator is located on Ross’s website, http://www.house.gov/ross/rxdrugs.htm.

“By going to my website, seniors can actually calculate the cost they will supposedly save under the current Medicare bill,” said Ross. “I think many Medicare beneficiaries will find this is not a meaningful benefit, and does nothing to bring down high cost of prescription drugs.

“Providing our seniors with a voluntary, but guaranteed and meaningful prescription drug benefit remains my top priority,” said Ross. “And I will not stop fighting for our seniors until they can walk into the pharmacy of their choice, pull out their Medicare card, and receive the same benefit that they get when they go to the doctor or hospital.”