Robert Berry: “I rise to request my colleagues' support for legislation I introduced yesterday to save the Medicare program almost half…”

“I rise to request my colleagues' support for legislation I introduced yesterday to save the Medicare program almost half a billion dollars a year in unnecessary overpayments for prescription drugs. As the only pharmacist in the 105th Congress, let me first state that the price of these drugs is not due to the family pharmacist. The high price is set by the pharmaceutical manufacturers. Making the situation even worse, under current Medicare law, the program reimburses doctors who prescribe covered drugs for 95 percent of the ``sticker price'' quoted by pharmaceutical manufacturers, rather than the actual cost to the doctor of acquiring the drug. Furthermore, Medicare pays doctors for the cost of their expenses, overhead, consultation time, and for administering the drugs under the practice expense system, not to mention the close to $7 billion that Medicare spends each year to educate our Nation's doctors. A recent analysis by the Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General shows that Medicare is wasting millions each year under the current system, $447 million alone in 1996. Our patients deserve better. The Stop Medicare Overpayment Act, based on the President's fiscal year 1999 budget and included in a comprehensive antifraud proposal introduced by the gentleman from California (Mr. Stark) last year, will go a long way toward establishing a fair and adequate payment system.”