AARP applauds Senate Finance Committee for passing Medicare Rx bargaining bill...Organization urges full Senate to stand with the overwhelming majority of Americans and support bill

   

 WASHINGTON, April 12 2007/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AARP CEO Bill Novelli released the following statement today after the U.S. Senate Finance Committee passed a bill to give Medicare the power to bargain for lower drug prices (S. 3) with a bipartisan vote. The bill is now headed to the Senate floor for a vote.

        

"We commend the Senate Finance Committee Members who stood with nearly 90 percent of voting-age Americans who support giving Medicare the power to bargain for lower drug prices.

   

"Older Americans are the largest consumers of prescription drugs, and many have been greatly helped under Part D. Allowing Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices is common sense, and could lead to more affordable drugs for Medicare beneficiaries and lower costs for all taxpayers.

 

"AARP members have been calling and emailing their elected officials by the tens of thousands in recent weeks, and they want to know where their Senators stand on this important issue. We look forward to working with Senators from both sides of the aisle as this legislation moves forward."

   

Earlier this year, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 4, the "Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act of 2007," by a bipartisan vote of 255 to 170. AARP strongly supported H.R. 4 and is now putting its efforts behind similar legislation in the Senate.

   

AARP is recording House and Senate roll call votes on key issues, and informing its members about how their elected officials voted. A vote for allowing Medicare to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices will be counted among AARP's key votes.

   

AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization that helps people 50+ have independence, choice and control in ways that are beneficial and affordable to them and society as a whole. We produce AARP The Magazine, published bimonthly; AARP Bulletin, our monthly newspaper; AARP Segunda Juventud, our bimonthly magazine in Spanish and English; NRTA Live & Learn, our quarterly newsletter for 50+ educators; and our website, AARP.org. AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity that provides security, protection, and empowerment to older persons in need with support from thousands of volunteers, donors, and sponsors. We have staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.