Drug Companies, Not Elderly Americans, Are the Real Beneficiaries of the New Medicare Prescription Drug Plan

WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Nov. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- America's elderly are starting to be informed, and they are realizing, that the so-called Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Card Benefit is really only going to benefit large multi-national drug companies. This is further supported in a report by the public service group, Public Citizen, whereby it states "Decrying "price controls" and clamoring for a "market-based" solution, the nation's drugmakers -- already the most profitable industry in the United States -- made it clear to Congress that they wouldn't tolerate any plan threatening their bottom line."

This report further unveils that the pharmaceutical industry spent more than ever before on Washington, D.C. lobbyists last year. Drug companies and their trade associations deployed nearly 700 lobbyists to stamp out any proposals that would result in the federal government negotiating the cost of drugs or otherwise limiting the industry's astronomical profits.

Jeff Uhl, the president of www.UniversalDrugStore.com , a leading mail order pharmacy, says it is becoming increasingly evident that the real beneficiaries of the Medicare Prescription Drug Card Plan will not be America's elderly, but the large prescription drug companies.  That is why a growing number of seniors-and seniors' advocacy groups across the nation-are urging a delay of the implementation of the costly Medicare Part D program.  

Uhl further contends that many seniors are so confused by the program itself they are delaying joining any plan until the last minute. With premium penalties looming and the high pressure scare tactics, many seniors believe they have no other option than to buy their drugs through this ill conceived plan.  However, seniors in looking for much needed alternatives are once again turning to the benefits of the Canadian pharmacy option and are looking to pharmacies like www.UniversalDrugStore.com  to pass on real savings, averaging 42%.

    Uhl also notes from the Public Citizen Report, the pharmaceutical industry's most significant victory came in derailing efforts to offer a prescription drug benefit as part of the traditional Medicare program. Instead, the industry has pushed to have Medicare drug coverage provided by private insurers and HMOs, thereby fracturing the bargaining power of the 41 million Medicare beneficiaries in price negotiations. Blocking price controls has resulted in a potential windfall of $139 billion in profits for the pharmaceutical manufacturers, the true beneficiaries of Plan D.

Sen. John R. McCain (R-Ariz.), speaking about the new Medicare plan, could not have stated it better when he told the New York Times, "There's no doubt in my mind that the drug industry got everything it wanted and more," he said. "It perhaps should be called the 'Leave-No-Lobbyist-Behind Bill.'"

Uhl notes that a 2003 Boston University report, updated last year, asserts that, because of Medicare Part D, drug companies would boost annual profit by roughly 38 percent, or $17 billion, over profit that otherwise would have been $45 billion per year. Over an eight-year period, it said, profit would total an additional $139 billion.

"Thanks to the way the Part D law was written, while seniors are 'locked in' to their plans, there are no restrictions on what the drug companies can do regarding pricing," Uhl explains.  "Because of that, we expect that the drug companies will be on their best behavior for a brief period, and then after locking in millions of seniors, will arbitrarily raise prices and influence plan providers to change formularies.  "This means that those seniors will be victims of predatory policies that place profits ahead of people," Uhl continues.

Uhl notes that as seniors are beginning to realize that the real beneficiaries of Part D are the drug companies and not the seniors themselves, more and more seniors are starting to consider enrolling in a Medicare plan with the lowest monthly premium (to avoid future premium penalties), and then not participating, but continuing to order their prescription drugs from Canada and other sources outside the U.S.

"As more and more elderly Americans become aware of the flaws in Part D they realize that their greatest savings, freedom of choice and flexibility lies with licensed, professional Canadian pharmacies such as www.UniversalDrugStore.com, " Uhl says.