“The big drug manufacturers and big insurance companies just won a major victory with the passage of the Republican’s so-called Medicare Prescription Drug bill.  Their victory was a huge setback for America’s seniors.

The bill actually contains language that states the Federal Government shall be prohibited from negotiating with the big drug manufacturers to bring down the high cost of medicine.  And they call this a seniors bill?

The second problem with this bill is the privatization aspect. Private plans will simply not offer the same, comprehensive benefits Medicare does. Because private plans’ first concern is profits, those plans will likely offer more limited benefits to our seniors than Medicare would.

And finally the prescription drug plan currently on the table does not even start until 2006, and only provides seniors $1,042.50 on the first $5,044.00 in prescription drug costs. 

When my House colleagues voted on this bill, they had the option of voting on the side of the  big drug manufactures, or on the side of America’s seniors. In voting against this bill, I will be voting on the side of our seniors. And I will not stop fighting until seniors can walk into the pharmacy of their choice, pull out the Medicare card, and receive the same benefit they do when they go to the doctor or hospital. 

When Members of Congress vote on this bill this week, they will be choosing to vote on the side of the big drug manufactures, or on the side of America’s seniors. In voting against this bill, I will be voting on the side of our seniors. And I will not stop fighting until seniors can walk into the pharmacy of their choice.

The Medicare Prescription Drug bill passed by the Republican leadership offers nothing more than a false hope and a false promise for our seniors. The Republicans actually put language, at the request of the big drug manufacturers, in the bill that says the federal government shall be prohibited from negotiating with drug companies to bring down the high cost of prescription drugs!

Second, drug manufacturers and PBM’s, under the Republican Medicare Prescription Drug bill, won a major victory by privatizing the benefit.  They know if we have 40 million seniors under one plan, Medicare will demand discounts from them, like they give other countries, to help offset the cost of the program.  By privatizing the plan, Medicare beneficiaries will be spread over several hundred private insurance plans, managed by PBM’s, diluting the buying power and reducing the chance of drug manufacturers being forced to lower the high cost of prescription drugs. 

Third, the benefit itself, which does not even take effect until 2006, is not meaningful as it requires seniors to pay $4020 of the first $5,100 worth of prescription drugs they buy each year, while Medicare will only pay $1,080!  It includes a monthly premium estimated at $35 each month, a $250 annual deductible, and then Medicare pays 75 percent of the cost of the medicine from $250 to $2,250.  But when seniors reach $2,250, they must continue to pay the $35 monthly premium, but Medicare does not pay any of the cost of their medicine from $2,250 to $5,100.  If seniors cannot afford the first $2,250 worth of medicine each year, how are they going to afford the next $2,850? 

I knew Washington was partisan. But I thought, if there was ever an issue that would not be a Democrat or Republican issue, but rather, a senior issue, this would be it. Instead, we have a bill that provides no real benefit for our seniors, and only benefits the big drug manufacturers. I cannot vote for the Medicare Bill in its current form, because it offers nothing more than false hope and false promises for our seniors.