Bush readies the veto
Bush says he will veto any legislation forcing the government to negotiate with the pharmaceutical companies over drug prices:
Once again, I say, "bring it on." The Veterans Administration negotiates on behalf of its constituency, and their drug prices are about half of those charged to Medicare Part D patients. This is a no-brainer, and the public will figure it out. Republicans are committed to giving away the public's purse to big business.
One side note here. I get my mother's monthly statements from her Medicare Part D provider - one of the large health insurance companies. Those statements purport to show the total savings the subscriber has reaped by being a member of the plan. In my mother's case, she has not yet met the $250 deductible on the plan (apart from drugs that aren't covered under the insurer's formulary), so there have been no actual benefits paid. However, the provider calculates her savings at something like $75.00 in 2006, based on a comparison of the prices the insurer has negotiated with the pharmaceutical companies to some hypothetical prices that they say would have been paid if the insurer hadn't negotiated the prices down for you. Somehow or other, however, the allegedly lower "negotiated" prices we have been paying are higher (by about 35%) than the prices we were paying for the same drugs when Mom had no drug coverage. So, folks shouldn't pay too much attention to these alleged savings that the insurers tell you you're getting.
WASHINGTON - President Bush renewed his veto threat Friday as Democrats pushed legislation that would require the government to negotiate drug prices for Medicare patients.
The House began debating the bill that would require the secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct those negotiations. It's one of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record)'s six priorities for the new Democratic-controlled House.
Democrats touted the negotiations as a way to save money for seniors and taxpayers. They said that the government would be able to drive down prices by buying in bulk.
"Medicare overpays drug companies in purchasing medicine," said the bill's author, Rep. John Dingell (news, bio, voting record), D-Mich.
Once again, I say, "bring it on." The Veterans Administration negotiates on behalf of its constituency, and their drug prices are about half of those charged to Medicare Part D patients. This is a no-brainer, and the public will figure it out. Republicans are committed to giving away the public's purse to big business.
One side note here. I get my mother's monthly statements from her Medicare Part D provider - one of the large health insurance companies. Those statements purport to show the total savings the subscriber has reaped by being a member of the plan. In my mother's case, she has not yet met the $250 deductible on the plan (apart from drugs that aren't covered under the insurer's formulary), so there have been no actual benefits paid. However, the provider calculates her savings at something like $75.00 in 2006, based on a comparison of the prices the insurer has negotiated with the pharmaceutical companies to some hypothetical prices that they say would have been paid if the insurer hadn't negotiated the prices down for you. Somehow or other, however, the allegedly lower "negotiated" prices we have been paying are higher (by about 35%) than the prices we were paying for the same drugs when Mom had no drug coverage. So, folks shouldn't pay too much attention to these alleged savings that the insurers tell you you're getting.
posted by walldon | 9:54 AM
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