Empower Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices. (http://www.ourfuture.org)

[pinto]

from: http://www.ourfuture.org/

Dear friend,

Next week, the Senate is expected to vote on a bill to empower Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices. Your Senators need to hear from you immediately, so that we can overcome the pressure from the pharmaceutical lobby to kill this bill.

Tell your Senators: Empower Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices.

http://ga3.org/ct/gdMmsaK1HmRe/

When the conservative majority in the last Congress let the drug industry lobbyists write the Medicare prescription drug law, they insisted on a provision banning our government from negotiating the lowest possible price for seniors' medications. Our new study, released last week found that prohibiting negotiation is costing us over $30 billion each year in excess profits for the drug companies.

"Negotiating the best price is the American way." That common sense point was made by Senator Debbie Stabenow last week at our press conference heralding the study. Yet the corporate drug companies don't want our seniors to get the best price for their medications. And they have hundreds of millions of dollars, dishonest TV ads, and more than 1,000 lobbyists, to try to strong-arm Congress into doing things their way.

What do we have? We have 85% of the public who think that Medicare should negotiate for lower drug prices. We have the mandate earned by the new Congress, whose leaders ran pledging to lift the prohibition on negotiating. We have the CAN (Change America Now) Coalition of citizen groups putting pressure on Senators. And, most importantly, we have your voice.

A bill lifting the ban on price negotiation cleared the House as part of its "First 100 Hours" agenda. But, the outcome in the Senate is unclear. Conservatives have threatened to filibuster any legislation allowing Medicare to negotiate for lower prices, and 60 votes are needed to guarantee passage.

Senators will only be unduly influenced by Big Pharma's propaganda campaign if they don't hear from their constituents. They need know that people like you are asking: "Are you on our side, or are you on the side of the drug companies?"

Tell your Senators: Empower Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices.

Big Pharma's propaganda campaign is designed to muddy the facts about negotiation, and claim that it won't help lower prices. But if the drug companies really thought that seniors and taxpayers wouldn't save $30 billion a year, and that their enormous profits wouldn't be affected, then why are they lobbying so hard to kill the bill?

Allowing Medicare to negotiate is only one step towards reforming the prescription drug program and revamping our patchwork health care system. But it is critical fight to win. If we can triumph over the special interests now, we will be in better shape to tackle the bigger health care challenges that lie ahead.

Tell your Senators: Empower Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices.

http://ga3.org/ct/gdMmsaK1HmRe/

Thank you for your commitment to our seniors, our economy and our country.

Sincerely,

Jeff Cruz, Senior Policy Analyst

Campaign for America's Future

[Vincardog]

1. Done K & R

[madfloridian]

2. Recommended and done.

Glad to see this happening. I was worried the propaganda by even Democratic pollsters was going to work. Several centrist Dem consultants have been saying it would hurt to do this. Their views are very skewed on this issue. I think Stabenow is looking into doing something.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1263

[pinto]

3. Agree, this is a good move and the right time to bring it back up, imo.

It's a key to enable Medicare to function more efficiently for the millions of retired and disabled Americans they serve.