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Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) recently introduced a broadsheet (HR 6800) that would replace the Medicare prescription medicine drug benefit with a new platform in an effort to reduce costs, CQ HealthBeat reports. The legislation would require Medicare to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies for discounts on ethical drug drugs and eliminate copayments, premiums and deductibles for medications for beneficiaries. In addition, the bill would limit the price of prescription drugs developed through publically funded research and allow the purchase of medications from an sanctioned list of foreign nations.
Kucinich in a statement said, "The privatized drug plan has been minded a probability and, as predicted, it has failed," adding, "There is no reason for us to keep throwing money at a bad idea when we know we lavatory save taxpayers billions of dollars and give seniors the medication they need."
According to a statement from America's Health Insurance Plans, a Harris Interactive on-line poll released in December 2007 plant that 87% of Medicare beneficiaries were satisfied with their prescription drug plans and that 75% worn-out less on medications than they did before enrollment. AHIP representative Robert Zirkelbach said, "The Part D program has proven to help seniors get access to the prescription drugs they need while holding down costs for beneficiaries and taxpayers" (Parnass, CQ HealthBeat, 8/7).
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