Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act of 2007

MEDICARE PRESCRIPTION DRUG PRICE NEGOTIATION ACT OF 2007

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Ms. CASTOR. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to act today to require the Bush administration to negotiate prescription drug prices under Medicare part D so that we can achieve savings for our seniors and for all Americans.

In my district in the Tampa Bay area, one in seven residents is dependent upon Medicare for their health care needs. And over the past year, assisted seniors were struggling with the complicated and confusing part D. They do not like being forced into HMOs. Many were frustrated in Florida from having to choose from 43 different HMO plans. And then they did not receive straightforward assistance from the Bush administration.

I thank the chairman for his pledge to fight for greater reforms, but today is our first step.

It is unfair that HMOs and drug companies are making huge profits off the backs of our seniors. In the last Congress, part D was crafted to benefit the HMOs and insurance companies and not our seniors. But the Democrats know how to fix this.

A recent Family USA study found that for the most prescribed drugs, VA prices are much lower than the prices charged by insurers.

So let's act today and prove to our older neighbors and all taxpayers that we heard their pleas for help.

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