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Bay Area seniors are not saving significant money under Medicare's new prescription drug program, according to a report released Monday by most of the Bay Area's House Democrats. The report says Bay Area prices for 2004's 10 best-selling prescription drugs among seniors are 75 percent higher under the new Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit than under deals negotiated by the federal government at other agencies such as the Department of Veterans Affairs. Medicare Part D's prices also are 60 percent higher than those paid by consumers in Canada; almost 5 percent higher than prices on Drugstore.com; and almost 2 percent higher than prices at Costco, the report found. But Republicans who shepherded the bill through Congress rejected a proposal to let Medicare negotiate with drug companies for lower prices. The report proves "what we've been saying since the debate on the Republican Medicare drug bill began," said Rep. Pete Stark, D-Fremont, in a news release. "If you create a privatized drug benefit and refuse to let the government negotiate lower prices, senior citizens and people with disabilities will pay the price," said Stark, who as ranking Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee's Health Subcommittee is particularly outspoken on the issue. "Instead of attempting to set Medicare on the road to privatization, Republicans in Congress should have worked with Democrats to establish a real prescription benefit within Medicare." March 08, 2006 Full Story With soaring prescription drugs leaving many Oklahomans broke, a controversial plan could make some medications cheaper. Governor Brad Henry wants the state to allow Oklahomans to buy prescription drugs from Canada. The proposal was met with mixed opinions in Carter County today. KTEN's Pete Tenney talked with the governor's office and with locals about the proposal. Febrauary 01, 2006 Full Story Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton swung through upstate New York today to hear from pharmacists and others about the new Medicare drug program. Tens of thousands of elderly poor have had trouble getting their medicine after they were cancelled from Medicaid prescription drug coverage but not properly listed as eligible for the new program. Clinton said, quote, "The whole Medicare plan from the very beginning has been a nightmare." She said the program is an ineffective and costly mistake that does more for the companies that make drugs than the people who take them. One Rochester pharmacist said he saw at least 50 people today who couldn't make their co-payments. January 24, 2006 Full Story This week California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appealed to Congress to allow Americans to import affordable prescription drugs from Canada and other countries. In a letter to Congressional leaders he acknowledged that "drug prices continue to escalate" and "his own effort to lower the cost of prescription drugs has been insufficient." Whether a sincere gesture or election year posturing, the notion of acquiring safe and affordable medications is already available to Californians and to all Americans. Licensed online Canadian pharmacies like Minit Drugs (www.Pharmacy-Online.ca) have been safely dispensing prescriptions to Americans for years. Gestures by Governor Schwarzenegger and others only confirm that drug importation from Canada is a feasible option for Americans regardless of legislative status. The key is simply to select legitimate online Canadian pharmacies. January 05, 2006 Full Story Sen. Debbie Stabenow said Tuesday that falling wages and rising health care costs threaten to destroy Michigan's middle-class standard of living. As companies slash worker benefits and manufacturers struggle with the competitive disadvantage of escalating health care expenses, Stabenow said Washington still lacks a sense of urgency about the economic damage taking place. Speaking to a group of about 100 doctors, nurses and administrators at St. John Macomb Hospital in Warren, Stabenow said the White House and many in Congress see little need to revise the nation's employer-based system of providing health insurance. "We spend twice as much of our GDP, our gross domestic product, on health care as any other country, but we have 45 million uninsured people. There is something wrong with this picture," said the Lansing Democrat. "I wish we could say we're spending twice as much and getting twice as much health care." December 14, 2005 Full Story |
