Dennis Kucinich: “on one hand we hear from the opposition that this bill will not save seniors money. But then we hear that Medicare's…”

“on one hand we hear from the opposition that this bill will not save seniors money. But then we hear that Medicare's negotiation of prices is tantamount to price controls. To make that argument, one has to assume money will be saved. Which is it? Will it save money or won't it? The answer is that of course it will save money. It's particularly interesting that Pharma's response is to threaten to reduce innovative new drug research by withholding research funding. Pharma will not reduce their lobbying army that outnumbers Members of Congress. They will not reduce their profits which average almost $5 billion dollars among the top 8 Pharma companies in 2006 alone. They will not reduce their army of salespeople dedicated to influencing the prescribing habits of doctors. They will not stop paying scientists to influence clinical trial data that is supposed to be the basis for impartial judgment of a drug's efficacy and safety. No, they are threatening to cut research funds, which they claim will affect innovation. But they will not tell you that the number of truly innovative drugs they are producing has been declining since 1999 according to the Government Accountability Office. Why? Because they are instead spending their money on making minor changes to existing drugs in order to extend their highly profitable patent life.”