Congressional discussions about the government negotiating Medicare Part D drug prices is ongoing.
Although President George W. Bush has threatened to veto legislation allowing the government to negotiate prescription drug prices, lawmakers are moving forward. The House of Representatives passed a measure that would require the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to barter with drug companies over Medicare Part D drug prices. (UPI)
The Senate version of the bill is less extreme. It won’t require the secretary to negotiate drug prices but will allow him to negotiate. As expected, the drug industry is lobbying against the legislation. From the article:
The pharmaceutical industry has also kicked into high gear, spending $182 million on lobbying between June of 2005 and June 2006, according to the Center for Public Integrity…Touting a recent Congressional Budget Office report that found negotiations would result in negligible savings, the industry is pushing its message that interfering with the prescription drug benefit now would hurt consumers.
