Received this e-mail today from Social Security Works regarding Medicare price gouging:
Did you know that Americans pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs? Did you know that since the creation of Medicare Part D, American taxpayers no longer pay the lowest government-negotiated prices for the drugs needed by low-income seniors and people with disabilities?
There is a common sense solution to reduce these high drug costs and eliminate the excessive profits of big drug companies. Click here to tell Congress to support it!
http://afl.salsalabs.com/...
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) have introduced the Medicare Drug Savings Act, S. 740 in the U.S. Senate and H.R. 1588 in the U.S. House of Representatives, that would eliminate this special deal for brand-name drug manufacturers. This legislation would prevent the big drug companies from charging the federal government higher drug prices for low-income Medicare beneficiaries than they charge for Medicaid. The Medicare Drug Savings Act would save the federal government more than $141.2 billion over 10 years, money that helps all Medicare beneficiaries.
Please click here to ask your Senators and Representatives to co-sponsor this critical legislation.
http://afl.salsalabs.com/...
Currently, the federal government negotiates lower prices both for veterans and Medicaid beneficiaries. However, when low-income Medicaid beneficiaries were transferred to the Medicare program, price-gouging drug companies received a huge windfall, because they stopped offering the government the lowest, discounted rate.
Click here to ask your Senators and Representatives to co-sponsor the Medicare Drug Savings Act.
http://afl.salsalabs.com/...
Here's some info on the Medicare Drug Savings Act from Senator Rockefeller's website:
http://www.rockefeller.senate.gov/...
The bill would save $141.2 billion, helping to responsibly reduce the deficit, and avoid reckless proposals to cut Medicare benefits.
The Medicare Drug Savings Act would eliminate a special deal for brand-name drug manufacturers that allows them to charge Medicare higher prices for prescription drugs for some seniors and people with disabilities. The bill would require drug companies to provide rebates to the federal government on drugs used by dual eligibles – people eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid, who are predominantly low-income seniors and people with disabilities – just as was done for dual eligibles on Medicaid before Medicare Part D was created in 2006.
With the exception of Medicare Part D, all large purchasers of prescription drugs negotiate better prices, including Medicaid and private insurers. This bill simply restores negotiated prices for low-income Medicare beneficiaries.
This bill would correct excessive payments to drug companies, while also saving taxpayers and the federal government from footing the unnecessary cost. Over the past ten years, the 11 largest drug companies alone took in $711.4 billion in profits, including a 62 percent increase from 2003 to 2012.
The companion bill was introduced in the House by Ranking Members Henry A. Waxman, Sander M. Levin, George Miller, Jim McDermott, and Robert E. Andrews.
The bill has been co-sponsored by Senators Bill Nelson (D-FL), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Al Franken (D-MN), Angus King (I-ME), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Jack Reed (D-RI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Tom Udall (D-NM), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). Please sign the petition to get your Senator and Congressman on board:
http://afl.salsalabs.com/...
you will be missed Senator Rockefeller.