On the recordJune 15, 2011
I rise today to introduce the Medicare Drug Savings Act of 2011. I am proud to be joined by my colleagues Senator Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Senator Barbara Boxer of California, in introducing this important piece of legislation. The Republican budget would end Medicare as we know it, replacing it with a voucher program that would double seniors' out of pocket costs and leave them at the mercy of private insurance companies. It would also decimate the Medicaid program, leaving millions of vulnerable individuals including seniors, children, and people with disabilities with nowhere to turn for care. We need to responsibly reduce our deficit, but taking away health care for seniors and other vulnerable people should be off the table. Rather than dismantling Medicare and Medicaid, we can save hundreds of billions of dollars by holding drug companies accountable and using the purchasing power of the federal government to negotiate lower drug prices. That is why we are introducing the Medicare Drug Savings Act. The bill will eliminate a special deal from the 2003 Medicare prescription drug law that allows drug companies to charge Medicare higher prices for some seniors' prescription drugs. It would require prescription drug manufacturers to pay rebates to Medicare for dually eligible beneficiaries in Medicare and Medicaid.…
