Thursday, February 12, 2004
U.S. Senators make a push for drug price controls
["Latest Medicare Reform Proposal Is 'Just Plain Politics,' Think Tank Says," Press Release, The Heartland Institute, 5 February 2004.]
The federal Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act, while a tremendous additional cost to the Medicare system, at least makes an effort to keep the distribution of the drug benefit a private sector activity. As elections approach, now even this is under fire:
[T]wo U.S. Senators, Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) plan to introduce legislation allowing the federal government to directly negotiate drug prices with private drug companies. The legislation, called the “Medicare Enhancements for Needed Drugs Act,” also takes steps to legalize the importation of drugs from Canada and penalize drug companies that limit their exports to Canada.
Under the [current] law, competitive bidding occurs between drug companies and private benefit management companies competing to provide the most popular plans. This clause simply keeps the government from bullying into the process by imposing national price controls. This clause is a good thing--a reminder that this program is to be privately delivered, not run by government bureaucrats.
As this press release details, price controls are bad news for consumers. Allowing competition to prevail will result in better outcomes for all Americans.
["Latest Medicare Reform Proposal Is 'Just Plain Politics,' Think Tank Says," Press Release, The Heartland Institute, 5 February 2004.]
The federal Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act, while a tremendous additional cost to the Medicare system, at least makes an effort to keep the distribution of the drug benefit a private sector activity. As elections approach, now even this is under fire:
[T]wo U.S. Senators, Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) plan to introduce legislation allowing the federal government to directly negotiate drug prices with private drug companies. The legislation, called the “Medicare Enhancements for Needed Drugs Act,” also takes steps to legalize the importation of drugs from Canada and penalize drug companies that limit their exports to Canada.
Under the [current] law, competitive bidding occurs between drug companies and private benefit management companies competing to provide the most popular plans. This clause simply keeps the government from bullying into the process by imposing national price controls. This clause is a good thing--a reminder that this program is to be privately delivered, not run by government bureaucrats.
As this press release details, price controls are bad news for consumers. Allowing competition to prevail will result in better outcomes for all Americans.
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