John Kerry on

Prescription Drug Prices: Signed December 8, 2003, the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, establishes a new optional Medicare prescription drug benefit. Of the seniors who are eligible though, The Associated Press reported that of the 7 million poor seniors who are eligible for the card and a $600 subsidy, only 1.3 million (19%) have actually signed up to receive the discount. And as widely reported, total enrollment-counting both poor and non-poor-is at 4.4 million, and over half of those were enrolled automatically by heath maintenance organizations. The overall total is still 3 million shy of the number the administration predicted would be enrolled by the end of 2004. Seniors complain the cards are confusing, and healthcare advocates fault the Department of Health and Human Services for failing to effectively publicize the program.

John Kerry:

Description of Candidate's Position: Kerry states that prescription drug prices have grown four times faster than the inflation rate. Kerry plans to reduce prescription drug prices by allowing the re-importation of safe prescription drugs from Canada which has the support of legislators like Trent Lott and John McCain, overhauling the Medicare drug plan, ensuring low cost drugs, and ending artificial barriers to generic drug competition stating that too many pharmaceutical companies take advantage of the current patent laws with keep cheaper alternatives off the make for years.

Quotation from the Candidate: Yes. It's right to allow re-importation of safe, FDA-approved prescription drugs to give our seniors affordable access to the substantial discounts for prescriptions available in Canada and other countries. The prescription drug industry charges Americans the highest prices for prescription drugs in the world, while reaping high profits. I will allow individuals, pharmacists, wholesalers and distributors to re-import FDA-approved prescription drugs from other countries at lower prices with systems to ensure safety as well as lower costs. I have called on President Bush to support re-importation legislation which has support from Republicans --- from Trent Lott to John McCain --- but he continues to cave in to pressure from the drug industry." &endash; Quote from John Kerry found in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Oct. 14, 2004

Assessment of Proposal:

Positive: The AARP is dedicated to making life better for those fifty and older. Prescription drug benefits are very important to those at AARP and their members and state that legislation adding a prescription drug benefit to Medicare which AARP believes is a good first step, does not cover the drug costs between $2,250 and $5,100 for most Medicare beneficiaries. AARP supports closing the gap in coverage for all beneficiaries and believes that more must be done to bring down soaring drug prices. AARP supports the legal importation of prescription drugs beginning with Canada and allowing the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries if competitive purchasing doesn't work. This has lead the AARP to support John Kerry and his proposals for prescription drugs and Medicare.

Negative: Michael F. Cannon, director of health policy studies at the Cato Institute says that Americans should beware; stating that Kerry's platform for Health Care is perhaps the greatest threat to health care since the Clinton health plan. "In total, Prof. Thorpe (Ken Thorpe, former Clinton health administration official) estimates the Kerry health plan would cost $972 billion over nine years. This is about twice the cost of the recently enacted Medicare prescription drug benefit and would require a tax increase roughly equivalent to what the Treasury Department estimates to be the cost of repealing both Bush tax cuts." Cannon notes that the Kerry proposal does contain a market friendly addition; limiting the ability of drug innovators to expend their patents thus enabling generic drugs to hit the market. But Cannon also notes that Kerry fails to address the extensively slow and expensive approval process for new drugs that leads to such gaming.

Comparison: Under the current Medicare plan approved by the President, seniors and persons with disabilities will have the chance to receive discounts on the medications through a prescription drug card that would last until the final program goes into effect in 2006.

The problem with the drug card is that only 19% of those eligible are actually signing up for and using the card. Under Kerry's proposal, the plan would be drastically altered. Patients would have the chance to get drugs from other countries, starting with Canada and would ensure low cost drugs while ending the barriers placed on generic drug competition.

Link to Bush's brief on prescription drugs

Sources:

Kerry Website: A Plan for Stronger, Healthier Seniors

http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/health_care/seniors.html

Kerry website: Affordable Health Care for All

http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/health_care/

Bill Summery Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d108:HR00001:@@@D&summ2=m&