A recent article in The New York Times (
http://tinyurl.com/nytimes-amgen) reported on a provision that was tucked into the “fiscal cliff” deal exempts a specific class of drugs from government controls for two years. That exemption will cost Medicare, YOU, nearly $500 million. Ironically, the deal was introduce by Senators McConnell, Baucus, and Hatch, known for their desire to reduce government spending, are known to have received campaign funding from Amgen through its political action committee. Amgen is the same company that had pleaded guilty to marketing an anti-anemia drug illegally and agreed to pay criminal and civil penalties of $762 million, a record settlement for a biotechnology company. The one-paragraph bill was introduced by Peter Welch (D-VT) (
http://tinyurl.com/welchbill) and is co-sponsored by Richard Hanna (R-N.Y.), Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.), and Bruce Braley (D-Iowa).
