Reduce Medicare Costs, Don't Transfer Them

Reduce Medical Costs, Don't Just Transfer Them

Current political efforts to reform medicare and medicaid simply transfers cost to seniors. We need to focus instead on decreasing costs. The current Paul Ryan Medicare Reform bill would also repeal the closing of the Medicare Part D "doughnut" hole which was part of the Health Care Reform Bill. Passing the Paul Ryan Medicare Reform would result in an increase in cost of drugs for seniors next year. Failure to allow the Medicare Administration to negotiate drug prices in the past has already added to the Federal Deficit.

The US is the only advanced country in the World that doesn't negotiate prices for pharmaceuticals. The US would save hundreds of $Billions over the long run by the simple measure of negotiating drug prices formulary management incentives for serious bargaining. Such negotiated prices such be also be available to State run medical insurance programs, including medicaid and medicaid replacement programs.

We the undersigned demand that:

1) The Congress of the United States pass legislation repealing those parts of the ‘‘Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003’’ and all other United States Laws which restrict the ability of the administration to negotiate the lowest possible price for prescription drugs; and

2) The Congress of the United States pass legislation that specifically empowers the administration to negotiate the lowest possible price for prescription drugs for federal and Sate run medical programs, including Medicare Part D and Medicaid, and to utilize formulary management practices to enhance the negotiating position and minimize drug costs to the programs.