U.S. Senate Candidate Sheldon Whitehouse Details Prescription Drug Reform Plan

U.S. Senate Candidate Sheldon Whitehouse Details Prescription Drug Reform Plan

Bold approach will cut costs, confusion for seniors

Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate Sheldon Whitehouse detailed his prescription drug reform plan at a community breakfast with residents at the Scituate Vista Apartments this morning. As he campaigns across Rhode Island and meets with worried seniors all over the state, Whitehouse will continue to discuss his bold proposal to scrap the Republican-passed Medicare Part D drug bill and immediately replace it with a simple, straightforward, universal plan that keeps drug costs low and protects access to prescription drug coverage for seniors and persons with disabilities.

"I've held the hands of seniors who are desperately afraid that they'll wake up one day to find that the medicines they need the most are beyond their reach," Whitehouse said. "The Republican Medicare drug bill was written, signed, sealed, and delivered by the pharmaceutical and health insurance industry and their Washington lobbyists - so no wonder it benefits them and not our seniors here in Rhode Island. I'm running for Senate because I have a better idea: let's scrap that bogus law and immediately replace it with a new one that really fulfills our commitment to our seniors."

Whitehouse's Prescription Drug Reform Plan would take four concrete steps to cut costs and improve the quality of prescription drug insurance coverage:

1. Scrap and Immediately Replace the Current Plan. Frustrated seniors. Overworked pharmacists. Private drug and insurance companies with private agendas. Inadequate support from the federal government. And just today, the Washington Post reported that only 1.4 million people - a fraction of the 8 million eligible - have signed up for the new benefit, despite a $400 million campaign by the Bush administration. The new Medicare prescription drug system is clearly broken. If elected to the U.S. Senate, Whitehouse would fight to scrap it - and replace it, right away, with a real, common-sense plan that puts seniors, those with disabilities, and their families before the interests of pharmaceutical companies.

2. Empower Medicare to Negotiate Cheaper Prices. A survey by Families USA, released in November, found that 49 of the 50 most-prescribed drugs are an average of 58.2% more expensive for Medicare beneficiaries than for those who get their prescription drugs from the Veterans Administration (VA). That's because the VA is allowed to negotiate with the drug companies to get the best, lowest price. But the existing Medicare drug plan actually forbids Medicare from bargaining for lower drug prices. Whitehouse's prescription drug reform plan would give Medicare the immediate go-ahead to negotiate with the pharmaceutical companies to get the lowest possible prices for Americans eligible for Medicare.

3. Put Seniors First. Seniors need to know that they can choose a prescription drug plan that prioritizes their needs above corporate earnings and the bottom line. Whitehouse proposed to push for a nationwide, Medicare-administered prescription drug plan to be offered in addition to the private plans, to assure our seniors that their costs and benefits won't change with the ups and downs in the market.

4. Make It Flexible. Just this month, a study by Consumers Union found that the cost of drugs offered by many Medicare prescription drug plans has increased dramatically in just one month. A program that asks seniors to commit to a plan for an entire year, but allows the drug and health insurance companies to raise their prices whenever they want, is the wrong solution to high prescription drug costs. If elected, Whitehouse will push to make sure that seniors and persons with disabilities can switch plans if the one they signed up for no longer meets their needs.

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