Important vote this Friday for lower drug prices! Posted by Liz at 01/09/07 05:03 PM

Tell your House member to VOTE YES on HR.4.

We know negotiation works, look at the VA. It currently negotiates lower drug prices for its beneficiaries and gets savings up to 46%!! And this has saved taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars while ensuring access to medications.

It's time Medicare does the same...

Of course, we can expect Pharma to put up a fight on this one and they are already out there:

The drug industry also argues that regulating drug prices would hurt consumers and patients because it would harm drug makers' budgets for research and development. Pharmaceutical companies also say price controls could lead to supply shortages.

"We believe that Congress and the administration should carefully consider the impact that any legislation or regulation might have on pharmaceutical innovation," said Billy Tauzin, chief executive of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, which includes Pfizer Inc., Merck & Co. and Abbott Laboratories among its powerful membership.

comments (1)

1 Posted by Kalpana Parghi at 01/16/07 10:43 AM

I have concerns about ads for prescription drugs in media. They describe benefits in detail with only brief information about adverse effects. This is of greater concern when medicines for mental health and insomnia are advertised.

In the end, the patient may be paying for the ad as higher drug price.