Max Baucus: “It goes without saying we live in a very complicated era. That is especially true with prescription drug pricing, health…”

“It goes without saying we live in a very complicated era. That is especially true with prescription drug pricing, health care costs, new technologies, and new health care technologies. You cannot turn on the evening news without seeing a new technology, some way to help people lead higher quality lives, and you cannot turn on the TV without seeing an ad where essentially a prescription drug is being advertised as a new drug to help make people's lives better. It is very hard for people to know what to believe. It is also very difficult to know just what the right policy should be in Congress with respect to prescription drug benefits, more particularly what prices people should pay for drugs, and that is why we have deductibles, copays, and catastrophic coverage, and also what price Medicare should pay to the prescription drug companies when seniors are receiving benefits for drugs, and what the subsidy would be. It is not easy. I commend the Senators who put together this amendment because this amendment says: OK, the brand-name drug companies, the pharmaceuticals have their patent protection, and there is a good reason for patent protection: Because it takes a long time to develop drugs, and it is expensive. But there comes a time when enough is enough, when 17 years--I think that is the number of years of patent protection--is enough.”