I never cease to wonder at the obvious and glaring piece of legislative display of total disregard for our nation’s taxpayers.
In 2003, during the Bush Administration, the Republican majority in the House and Senate passed a law that the Department of Health and
Human Services, specifically Medicare, could not negotiate with pharmaceutical corporations for lower prices based on volume of purchases. Repeat, the Administration and the Congress of the United States actually allowed the pharmaceuticals to charge American citizens as much as they wanted, while at the same time charged other nations a great discount, at times about 50 percent less than Americans.
I believe those lawmakers that perpetrated this travesty should repeat their allegiance to the pharmaceuticals of the world and for the money you have helped them receive.
This legislation is unforgiveable.
Preliminary estimates indicate an overcharge to Medicare could approach nearly a half trillion dollars over the past nine years, given the
expensive emergency care due to the inability of folks to afford sky rocketing insurance premiums.
In addition, the health insurance companies dictated which prescription drug they would allow, and the more effective and expensive drug was the obligation of the patient to pay for.
Patients unable to pay, eventually cost Medicare the emergency room care.
The ObamaCare plan called for the elimination of this bill, but opposition forced that out of ObamaCare before its passage.
Another bill has been introduced by Democrats in the Senate for revocation of the 2003 bill.
We all need to watch the progress of this bill.
Lobbyists working for the pharmaceuticals have made prescription drugs a veritable gold mine at the American citizen’s expense.
It is time this 2003 prescription law is repealed and hopefully all the legislators on both sides of the aisle who made it possible as well. It is a sad truth when our legislators appear to accept certain benefits and campaign support from financial interests and turn their back on the folks that voted them into office.