Lindsey Graham: “what we are about is to authorize that $40 billion of the new surplus which has come into the Federal Government and is…”

“what we are about is to authorize that $40 billion of the new surplus which has come into the Federal Government and is projected to come over the next 5 years to be dedicated to the prescription medication benefit. This would allow for a total of $80 billion to be committed to this program. The result of that will be to bring the scale of the prescription medication benefit, as a totality of the Medicare program, somewhat into line with what other health care programs are spending on prescription medications today. The reality is that prescription medications have been the fastest growing sector of American health care, increasing at a rate of 15 to 20 percent a year. The fact is, with the new breakthroughs in prescription medication, there is likely to be further escalation of prescription medication costs. We have incorporated in the bill that has been introduced, and which would be supported by this allocation of additional funds, that annual increase in the expected rate of prescription medication costs. It is our hope that through some of the procedures in this legislation--such as the encouragement for the use of generic drugs, the use of an intermediary called a pharmacy benefits manager, and multiple managers so that there will be competition between the pharmaceutical company and the Medicare beneficiary who is using those drugs--there will be efforts to restrain the enormous explosion in cost of prescription medication.”