Stark lays Out Medicare agenda
Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.), who is expected to become chair of the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, on Tuesday said he plans to begin hearings on the Medicare prescription drug benefit as early as February , CQ HealthBeat
reports.

Speaking at a meeting of lobbyists at Patton Boggs, Stark said Democrats are considering three potential alternative changes to the drug benefit. The first would eliminate language in the 2003 Medicare law that prohibits the HHS secretary from negotiating with pharmaceutical companies over drug prices.

The second option, which Stark said he favors, would direct the HHS secretary to conduct a first round of price negotiations on covered drugs but allow insurers to negotiate prices below those amounts. The third option would create drug plan that would be administered by Medicare and would compete with private plans.

Stark added that any decisions on Medicare would be made in collaboration with incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and with the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which shares Medicare jurisdiction with the Ways and Means Committee. Pelosi has said that Democrats would act within 100 hours of taking control of Congress to authorize the HHS secretary to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies (Carey, CQ HealthBeat, 11/21).