28 May 2004
Medicare's new drug discount program: flawed from the start, uncertain at best.
The Morning Call, May 28, 2004
Medicare's drug discount program starts Tuesday. But two consumer group studies magnify its biggest flaw.
The inaccurately named Medicare Prescription, Drug Improvement, and Modernization Act was signed by President Bush in December. It prohibits the federal government from negotiating for lower drug prices. It also prohibits the reimportation of prescription drugs produced in America but sold for less in other countries.
The AARP's Public Policy Institute undertook an ambitious study. It reviewed manufacturers' prescription prices for the 197 most-prescribed drugs in AARP's prescription program. The group Families USA studied the average wholesale prices of the 30 most-prescribed medications in the Pennsylvania senior prescription program.
Both found prices for brand-name medicines are outpacing inflation, and erode the savings for seniors using Medicare-sponsored drug discount cards.
According to the AARP, prices for 197 drugs most commonly prescribed for seniors rose an average of 27.6 percent the last four years, triple the cumulative amount of inflation. Families USA found prices for the top 30 medicines used by seniors grew at more than quadruple the general inflation rate in the past year.
The discount cards are a bridge to full Medicare prescription benefits in 2006. The Bush administration said the cards would give price breaks of 10 percent to 17 percent on brand-name drugs; increases would be restrained with Web publication of comparative prices.
But that's not how it's shaping up. Further, news stories cited in a Common Cause report this month about the political maneuvers that led to the flawed Medicare legislation -- ''A Study in How Government Shouldn't Work'' -- are appalling.
Republican House leadership held the vote open for three hours, compared to the usual 15 minutes, while GOP colleagues were pressured to vote for it. Brian Lamb, head of C-SPAN, acknowledges the congressional leadership controls cameras on Capitol Hill. But for three crucial hours, he said, the camera stopped its usual scanning and stayed focused on the Democratic side.
Rep. Nick Smith, R-Michigan, told a Kalamazoo radio station that Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson and Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert offered $100,000-plus for his son Brad's congressional campaign. They threatened to work against him otherwise, but Rep. Smith decided to ''stick to my guns.''
The Washington Post told of a Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association offer to Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-La., for a $2 million a year job. It remains open; Mr. Tauzin may be eligible when he leaves office.
Legislating can be messy. But unethical arm-twisting is disgraceful. Misleading claims about prescription benefits won't be forgotten by those dependent on medications for good health and sometimes, life itself.
Copyright © 2004, The Morning Call
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