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America has over 40 million elderly and
disabled Americans who rely on prescription medication to maintain their way of
life. Over the past few years, prescription drug costs have skyrocketed
and I believe a prescription drug benefit plan for seniors is long overdue.
Unfortunately, the
Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (MMA) signed
into law by the President, P.L. 108-173 , does
little to help seniors. It does not address the astronomical cost of
prescription drugs, leaves a huge coverage gap, and penalizes those who do not
sign up before May 15, 2006.
To help seniors with the
Medicare and prescription drugs, I have introduced the Medicare Prescription
Drug Price Negotiation Act (H.R. 2685 ) (more in depth)
to allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate directly
with pharmaceutical companies to achieve discounts for Medicare
beneficiaries. I’ve also introduced the Medicare Prescription Drug
Flexibility for Seniors Act (H.R. 4410)
to extend the initial enrollment period by 2 years, allow beneficiaries to
change plans if the plan sponsors alters its formulary, and penalizes
retirement health plans that provide misleading information about their
coverage. Finally, if the federal government isn’t allowed to negotiate
on behalf of its citizens, I support prescription drug
importation so seniors can go elsewhere to obtain less expensive medicine.
During the 109th
Congress, I cosponsored a number of bills to amend MMA, including:
- the Medicare Prescription Drug Savings and Choice
Act (H.R.
752 ) to create a nationwide prescription drug plan to be run by the
Secretary of Health and Human Services;
- the Medicare Informed Choice Act (H.R. 3861)
to extend the deadline for choosing a plan until the end of 2006;
- the Medicare Prescription Drug Emergency Guarantee
Act (H.R.
4685 ) to increase seniors' ability to change plans and reimburse
states and entities which covered the cost of drugs during the initial
enrollment period;
- the Medicare Drug Formulary Protection Act (H.R. 5102 )
to prevent prescription drug plans from removing a drug from their
formulary until the open enrollment period;
- the Choice for America’s Seniors Act (H.R. 5116 )
to extend the initial enrollment period by 6 months, suspend the late
enrollment fee for 2006, permit beneficiaries to change enrollment once a
year, and prevent arbitrary changes in formularies.
House Democrats promised
that within the first 100 hours of the 110th Congress, we would pass
prescription drug relief. On January 12, 2007, the House passed the Medicare
Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act, H.R. 4 to repeal the current
law prohibiting the Secretary of Health and Human Services from negotiating
with drug companies for lower prices for seniors enrolled in Medicare drug plans.
Not only will it repeal the prohibition, it will require the Secretary to
conduct these negotiations and report back to Congress about his
progress. It passed the House with a bipartisan vote of 255 to 170.
Since the creation of
MMA, I’ve commissioned a number of studies to determine its effects on
beneficiaries in the First Congressional District:
You may also be
interested in reading an op-ed I wrote after the passage of MMA: Privatization Plan
Masquerading as a Drug Benefit.
Congressman Larson has
held dozens of forums throughout the First Congressional District from 2003 to
present to discuss the cost of prescription drugs and the creation and
implementation of the new Medicare prescription drug benefit.
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