Alan F. Holmer, President of PhRMA, issued the following statement today in response to President Bush's address on strengthening Medicare:

February 11, 2002

We applaud and share the President’s vision of a strengthened Medicare program that will provide all seniors with access to the innovative medicines that are helping patients lead longer, healthier, and more productive lives.  Seniors need and deserve access to the medicines their physicians prescribe.  Now is the time to fulfill our obligation to older Americans by allowing them to better share in the scientific revolution that is transforming health care.

America’s pharmaceutical companies have hundreds of new medicines in the pipeline that will further improve the lives of seniors – medicines for heart disease, cancer, stroke, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, arthritis, diabetes and many more diseases of aging.  We want all seniors to benefit from these future medicines, and from medicines already available.  Therefore we support a prescription drug benefit that provides choice, fully assists the poorest seniors, spurs competition, includes access to all medicines, fosters – not frustrates – drug research, and permits those seniors who already have drug coverage to keep it.

We urge the President and Congress to enact prescription drug coverage for our nation’s seniors.  It can be done; it should be done.