Republican refuse to allow vote on more expansive benefitm
WASHINGTON - Congressman Bernard Sanders (I-VT) voted against the
Republican Medicare prescription drug bill early this morning. The bill,
which narrowly passed on a vote of 221 to 208, was drafted in close
consultation with the pharmaceutical industry. In order to guarantee
approval of their widely criticized bill, the Republicans carefully
choreographed the vote that took place at around 2:30 am by refusing to
allow a vote on a more expansive benefit supported by Sanders.
Sanders said, “The Republican so-called ‘prescription drug bill’ is a
sham that will bring little if any relief for seniors. Seniors should know
that the bill provides no guaranteed benefit, and it relies on private
insurance plans that many insurance companies say they won’t even offer.
It is a tragedy that instead of providing seniors a real Medicare
prescription drug benefit and lowering prescription drug prices for all
Americans, the Republican leadership chose to protect the profits of the
drug companies instead of the health of Americans.”
Some seniors may even pay more under the Republican plan. For instance,
if a senior pays $500 a year for prescription drugs now, they would pay
$720 under the Republican plan in premiums, copayments and deductibles. If
their annual bill is $1000, they’ll pay $820 - or 82% - of that bill. If
the bill is $5000, they will pay $4,220 - or 84%. That equates to only a
16% savings. Seniors would still be much better off buying their drugs in
Canada where the average prescription drug is priced over 33% lower than
in the U.S.
An alternative benefit package supported by Sanders would have covered
80% of all prescription drug costs for seniors. Sanders and a bipartisan
coalition also supported lowering prescription drug prices for all
consumers by allowing pharmacists and wholesalers to reimport FDA-approved
medicines from Canada, Europe and elsewhere where identical prescription
drugs are sold at a fraction of the U.S. price. The House Republican
leadership refused to even let these provisions come up for a vote for
fear that they would pass.
For More Information:
Visit the PRESCRIPTIONS
section.
Contact:
Joel Barkin at (202) 225-4115
