Issues
Health Care Affordable Prescription Drugs
Congress must help rein in the rapidly rising costs of heath
care, and especially prescription drugs. A competitive marketplace
for prescription drugs will help bring down the skyrocketing
prices that consumers in this country are paying. Over the
past four years, I have worked on a bipartisan basis to allow
the safe importation of prescription drugs from abroad. I
am a cosponsor of S.
242, the Pharmaceutical Market Access and Drug Safety
Act. This bill would allow the importation of FDA-approved
drugs from countries with FDA-comparable regulations, such
as Canada. If passed, this legislation would help ease the
financial burden on seniors who live on a fixed income.
Because the Medicare population has been hit particularly
hard by the rising cost of prescription drugs, I have supported
efforts to provide a meaningful prescription drug benefit
under Medicare. However, I could not, in good conscience,
vote for the final version of the Part D benefit that was
signed into law because it does not lower the actual cost
of prescription drugs and it does not provide adequate coverage
for all seniors. Additionally, it keeps Medicare from negotiating
price discounts and effectively prohibits the importation
of prescription drugs.
Since the MMA became law in December 2003, I have worked to
fix some of the major flaws in the law. I am an original cosponsor
of S.
239, the Medicare Enhancements for Needed Drugs (MEND)
Act. This bill would allow Medicare to negotiate lower prescription
drug prices while requiring congressional monitoring of, and
transparency in, Medicare drug pricing. In January 2005, I
introduced S.
123 and S.
124, which would give Medicare the authority to negotiate
drug prices and eliminate billions of dollars in unnecessary
subsidies to encourage the growth of private Medicare plans.
With 46 million Americans living without health insurance,
it is far past time for Congress to guarantee comprehensive
health insurance coverage, including prescription drug coverage,
for all Americans. I will continue to fight to ensure that
all Americans have access to the high-quality, affordable
health care they deserve.
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