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Kucinich
introduces Legislation that
seeks to lower Prescription Drug costs by
replacing Medicare Part D
[Aug 08, 2008] Rep. Dennis
Kucinich (D-Ohio) recently introduced a bill
(HR
6800) that would replace the
Medicare prescription drug benefit with a
new program in an effort to reduce costs,
CQ HealthBeat reports.
The legislation would require
Medicare to negotiate directly with
pharmaceutical companies for discounts on
prescription drugs and eliminate copayments,
premiums and deductibles for medications for
beneficiaries.
In addition, the bill would
limit the price of prescription drugs
developed through publically funded research
and allow the purchase of medications from
an approved list of foreign nations.
Kucinich in a statement said, "The
privatized drug plan has been given a chance
and, as predicted, it has failed," adding,
"There is no reason for us to keep throwing
money at a bad idea when we know we can save
taxpayers billions of dollars and give
seniors the medication they need."
According to a statement from
America's Health
Insurance Plans, a
Harris Interactive
online poll released in December 2007 found
that 87% of Medicare beneficiaries were
satisfied with their prescription drug plans
and that 75% spent less on medications than
they did before enrollment.
AHIP spokesperson Robert
Zirkelbach said, "The Part D program has
proven to help seniors get access to the
prescription drugs they need while holding
down costs for beneficiaries and taxpayers"
(Parnass,
CQ
HealthBeat, 8/7).
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