Pete Stark: “Every family in America, every business struggles in some way with the rising cost of health care. The key to driving…”

“Every family in America, every business struggles in some way with the rising cost of health care. The key to driving those health care costs down is getting control of skyrocketing prescription drug prices. It starts with negotiating better prices on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries, something the previous majority expressly and senselessly prohibited when the Medicare prescription drug law was passed in 2003. Now, this legislation is not about establishing formularies, setting price controls, or picking and choosing on behalf of seniors. It is about empowering the government to act on behalf of consumers and seniors. And, yes, that is a proper role for government, particularly when we have drug companies reporting double-digit profit increases while raising prices on top-selling medicines. We can get our health care crisis under control. Allow government to negotiate drug prices as private insurance plans do for their customers and the VA does so successfully for our Nation's veterans. Support this bill. Let us for a change do something for the public interest rather than continually doing something for the special interests.”