The Republicans are full of shit? There was no
secret meeting and no secret deal. Congress was involved and Congress has the power to expand, repeal or renew any legislation at any time.
"I am pleased to announce that an agreement has been reached between Senator Max Baucus and the nation's pharmaceutical companies that will bring down health care costs and reduce the price of prescription drugs for millions of America's seniors. As part of the health reform legislation that I expect Congress to enact this year, pharmaceutical companies will extend discounts on prescription drugs to millions of seniors who currently are subjected to crushing out-of-pocket expenses when the yearly amounts they pay for medication fall within the doughnut hole any payments by seniors not covered by Medicare that fall between $2700 and $6153.75 per year. The existence of this gap in coverage has been a continuing injustice that has placed a great burden on many seniors. This deal will provide significant relief from that burden for millions of American seniors".
"The agreement by pharmaceutical companies to contribute to the health reform effort comes on the heels of the landmark pledge many health industry leaders made to me last month, when they offered to do their part to reduce health spending $2 trillion over the next decade. We are at a turning point in America's journey toward health care reform. Key sectors of the health care industry acknowledge what American families and businesses already know - that the status quo is no longer sustainable. The agreement reached today to lower prescription drug costs for seniors will be an important part of the legislation I expect to sign into law in October. I want to commend House chairmen Henry Waxman, George Miller and Charles Rangel for addressing this issue in the health reform legislation they unveiled this week. This is a tangible example of the type of reform that will lower costs while assuring quality health care for every American".
Also, there is other
legislation on the table to lower drug costs for Americans.
When Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) introduced an amendment providing cheaper drugs for the Medicare/Medicaid eligibles — an amendment that would effectively scrap the White House deal with the branded drug lobby — Democrats on the panel couldn’t endorse it fast enough. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) came first, saying the proposal “makes all the sense in the world.” Not to be outdone, Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) quickly followed, the latter arguing that the current arrangement prohibiting negotiation, enacted by Republicans in 2003, was designed “simply to put money in the pharmaceutical companies’ pockets.”
“It’s hard to imagine an argument against that could be made publicly,” Schumer said.
But that didn’t stop several members of the panel from trying.
Sen. Charles Grassley (Iowa), the committee’s senior Republican, said the amendment — which Nelson says would save $86 billion over 10 years — “will raise prices for people with private insurance.”
“There is no free lunch,” said an impatient Grassley. “But these people talk like there is a free lunch.” He was talking about Democrats.
And Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) said it “just doesn’t seem fair” that Democrats would renege on the initial bargain with the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA.
“Whether you like PhRMA or not,” Carper said, “we have a deal.”
That comment brought a backlash of its own, with many Democrats quick to point out that they never agreed to any pact with the drug makers. “Congress has a right,” Kerry said, “to make a different decision.”
Last word to Senator Kerry.
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