The Administration plans to select only a few companies to administer this discount prescription drug card and charge Medicare recipients  $25 to enroll in the program.  Many companies already provide these cards at little or no expense.  The so-called “discount prescription drug card” is not part of Medicare or any other insurance plan and there is no cost sharing involved.  In other words, the Medicare beneficiary is required to pay the total price of the card and their medicine.

     As a small town family pharmacy owner, I have seen seniors receive these cards only to learn that the price for the medicine is higher than what they had been paying without the card.  Under this proposal, any savings that would possibly be recognized by Medicare recipients would be at the expense of your hometown pharmacy and not cost the big drug manufacturers a dime.  A recent report indicated that the big drug manufacturers are one of the most profitable businesses in America and spent more money last year in advertising their products than they spent on research and development of new life saving medications.

     I’m committed to providing seniors with a meaningful Medicare prescription drug benefit.  However, I cannot support a proposal for a so-called discount prescription drug card—a proposal that does nothing to hold the big drug manufacturers accountable while placing the entire burden of any possible savings on your hometown pharmacy; a proposal that does not require Medicare to pay even a portion of the Medicare recipients cost of prescription drugs, leaving our seniors with no meaningful relief and still being forced to pay for their medicine out of their own pockets.