Medicare Prescription Drug PRice Negotiation Act of 2007
MEDICARE PRESCRIPTION DRUG PRICE NEGOTIATION ACT OF 2007
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, this is a solution truly in search of a problem. We have heard of the success of the current program. We have heard a lot about special interests. Well, I rise to tell you that the patients of this Nation are my special interests. As a physician, I have seen and know that increased governmental involvement will decrease the drugs available and will harm patients. Some say, well, the VA system works just fine, and the government negotiates prices there; why not use that same system?
Well, there is no way to compare those two systems, Mr. Speaker. They are absolutely apples and oranges. VA is a closed system. Medicare is an open system that offers choice that patients want. VA has no retail pharmacy benefits, none. Medicare provides access to community pharmacists, where many seniors receive great information and support.
I have worked in the VA. I know what it means when they offer you, when they give the physicians a list of drugs that they are able to provide the recipients in a VA system. It doesn't work. It is a decreased formulary. There are those who think that they are going to get the pharmaceutical companies by adopting this bill.
Mr. Speaker, all they will do is hurt patients. We will ultimately see higher costs, fewer drugs available, less quality health care and patients harmed. Those supporting H.R. 4 think that they know what is best for patients. We simply believe that as a matter of principle it is patients and doctors who should be making personal health care decisions, including the medications used.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, you know, negotiation sounds good, but what happens when the government negotiates? It doesn't mean negotiate; it means price-fixing, the setting of prices decided by the government. That is the only thing that will be allowed. This will, by its very design, decrease the number of medications available to seniors and ultimately to all Americans.
This isn't just about Medicare's prescription drug program. This is a philosophical question about who ought to be making medical decisions, government bureaucrats or patients and physicians. We believe, as a matter of principle, it ought to be patients and physicians.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
http://thomas.loc.gov