Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act of 2007

MEDICARE PRESCRIPTION DRUG PRICE NEGOTIATION ACT OF 2007

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Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Bipartisan Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act of 2007, H.R. 4.

H.R. 4, despite the protestations to the opposite, does not require price controls, does not hamper research and development, does not require the Secretary of HHS to adopt the pricing structure of the Veterans Affairs system and does not require a national formulary.

What H.R 4 does require is for the Secretary of HHS to leverage the power of our 43 million Medicare beneficiaries to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies to get the best possible drug prices for our seniors and disabled under Medicare Part D.

There are still some of my colleagues who say this legislation is not necessary, but the facts indicate otherwise. Manufacturer prices for brand-name drugs rose 6.3 percent in the 12 months ending June 2006, more than one and one-half times the 3.8 percent rate of general inflation over the same period. In 2006 alone, this increase translated to an additional $283 for the typical American senior--an increase many can ill-afford.

We know that these prices are only likely to further increase and we need to repeal this prohibition now to help our seniors and disabled.

I urge my colleagues to support this critical legislation.

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