Seniors across the nation have felt the devastating effects of Medicare Part D; the misguided plan which forces seniors to make heartbreaking decisions between paying for medicine and paying for food.
Congress had a chance to ease this burden by giving Medicare the right to bargain for lower drug prices. In 2007, the House of Representatives passed a bill that required Medicare to bargain for lower prescription drug prices. The Senate watered-down its version of the bill to only permit Medicare to bargain. However, 43 Senators blocked a fair up-or-down vote on this issue.
These 43 Republican Senators to stop putting drug companies’ profits ahead of seniors’ health.
How does Medicare Bargaining affect retirees?
• Part D prohibits Medicare from bargaining for lower drug prices. Since Part D took effect, prices of the 15 most-used prescription drugs have gone up by an average of 9.2% -- that’s four times the rate of inflation, and three times the Cost of Living increase provided by Social Security.
• Without bargaining, Medicare is overpaying drug companies by 12% -- that money comes directly out of your pockets and goes into CEOs’.
• Prices under Medicare Part D are at least 50% higher than prices for veterans, because the Veterans Administration is allowed to bargain, while Medicare is not.
• These high prices push seniors into the infamous “Part D doughnut hole,” and they push Medicare towards insolvency.
• Giving Medicare the right to bargain wouldn’t just help seniors; it would help all taxpayers, because Medicare Bargaining would save $20 billion in tax dollars every year.