Bill Clinton: “Yes. We have sought and received assurances from many of the drug companies that for nonexperimental or non-newly…”

“Yes. We have sought and received assurances from many of the drug companies that for nonexperimental or non-newly developed drugs, which do--it costs a fortune to develop a new drug and bring it to market. And we all know they have to be priced at very high levels early on. The thing that has bothered me is that other countries have cost controls on their drugs, and so we have companies from America selling drugs made in America in other countries with incomes as high as our elderly people have, for prices one-third of what they're charging Americans. It's just not right. So we're trying to work through that. But a number of the drug companies, to be fair to them, have come forward and said, while you're implementing this program, we'll keep our cost increases to inflation. Then, when we get into the program, the drug services, like every other part of it, will be subject to significant pressures to stay within the rate of inflation or pretty close to it. But what the drug companies will get out of this program, they'll win big, because they will have people able to purchase drugs who never were able to do it before. So what they give up on the rate of increase they will make back in the volume of sales, if you see what I mean. So they're not going to lose on this deal, they're just going to have to stop increasing the same drugs more and stop charging people so much more for the same health care, but they'll be able to increase their volume. I saw one person being critical of our health care program the other night on one of these C-SPAN forums that I watched. And he said, ``Well,'' he said, ``you know in Germany, the President's always talking about Germany, and they only spend 8.8 percent of their income on health care, and we spend 14.5 percent, but they rely so much more on medicine.'' Yes, they do, as a result of which they don't have to go to the hospital as much. So the way our system will work, let me just briefly say, is that the drug benefit itself for elderly people will have a $250 deductible and a copay, but no matter how serious the drug needs are, no one can be required to pay more than $1,000 a year. And obviously, income needs will be taken into account. But we will also have the same benefit for people under 65 as for people over 65. To get the drug benefit, the Part B premium will go up modestly, but it will really help to provide that service to people. I think it's going to make a huge difference in the quality of life to millions of elderly people. And I think it's going to reduce their need for more extensive care by giving them a maintenance schedule with the most modern medicines. And it will be good for the drug company. It will be a good swap for them to let their regular prices go up less but to be able to sell more.”