[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 125 (Thursday, September 23, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1951]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  THE HIGH COST OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 22, 1999

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to join my colleague today in strong 
support for implementing legislation to substantially reduce the 
exorbitant prices of prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries. Our 
current Medicare program drastically fails to offer protection against 
the costs of most outpatient prescription drugs. H.R. 664, the 
Prescription Drug Fairness for Seniors Act of 1999 aims to create an 
affordable prescription drug benefit program that will expand the 
accessibility and autonomy of all Medicare patients. This bill will 
protect Medicare beneficiaries from discriminatory pricing by drug 
manufacturers and make prescription drugs available to Medicare 
beneficiaries at substantially reduced prices.
  Currently, Medicare offers a very limited prescription drug benefit 
plan for the 39 million aged and disabled persons obtaining its 
services. Many of these beneficiaries have to supplement their Medicare 
health insurance program with private or public health insurance in 
order to cover the astronomical costs not met by Medicare. 
Unfortunately, most of these plans offer very little drug cost 
coverage, if any at all. Therefore, Medicare patients across the United 
States are forced to pay over half of their total drug expenses out-of-
pocket as compared to 34 percent paid by the population as a whole. Due 
to these burdensome circumstances, patients are forced to spend more of 
their limited resources on drugs which hampers access to adequate 
medication needed to successfully treat conditions for many of these 
individuals.
  In 1995, we found that persons with supplementary prescription drug 
coverage used 20.3 prescriptions per year compared to 15.3 for those 
individuals lacking supplementary coverage. The patients without 
supplementary coverage were forced to compromise their health because 
they could not afford to pay for the additional drugs that they needed. 
The quality and life of these individuals continue to deteriorate while 
we continued to limit their access to basic health necessities. H.R. 
664 will tackle this problem by allowing our patients to purchase 
prescription drugs at a lower price.
  Why should our patients have to continually compromise their health 
by being forced to decide which prescription drugs to buy and which 
drugs not to take, simply because of budgetary caps that limit their 
access to treat the health problems they struggle with? These patients 
cannot afford to pay these burdensome costs. We must work together to 
expand Medicare by making it more competitive, efficient, and 
accessible to the demanding needs of our patients. By investing 
directly in Medicare, we choose to invest in the lives, health, and 
future of our patients. By denying them access to affordable 
prescription drugs, we deny these individuals the right to a healthy 
life which continues to deteriorate their well-being and quality of 
life.
  The House Committee on Government Reform conducted several studies 
identifying the price differential for commonly used drugs by senior 
citizens on Medicare and those with insurance plans. These surveys 
found that drug manufacturers engage in widespread price 
discrimination, forcing senior citizens and other individual purchasers 
to pay substantially more for prescription drugs than favored 
customers, such as large HMO's, insurance companies and the Federal 
Government.
  According to these reports, older Americans pay exorbitant prices for 
commonly used drugs for high blood pressure, ulcers, heart problems, 
and other serious conditions. The report reveals that the 
price differential between favored customers and senior citizens for 
the cholesterol drug Zocor is 213 percent; while favored customers--
corporate, governmental, and institutional customers--pay $34.80 for 
the drug, senior citizens in the 9th Congressional District may pay an 
average of $109.00 for the same medication. The study reports similar 
findings for four other drugs investigated in the study: Norvase (high 
blood pressure): $59.71 for favored customers and $129.19 for seniors; 
Prilosec (ulcers): $59.10 for favored customers and $127.30 for 
seniors; Procardia XL (heart problems): $68.35 for favored customers 
and $142.21 for seniors; and Zoloft (depression): $115.70 for favored 
customers and $235.09 for seniors.

  If Medicare is not paying for these drugs, then the patient is left 
to pay out of pocket. Numerous patients are forced to gamble with their 
health when they cannot afford to pay for the drugs needed to treat 
their conditions. Every day, these patients have to live with the fear 
of having to encounter major medical problems because they were denied 
access to prescription drugs they could not afford to pay out of their 
pocket. Often times, senior citizens must choose between buying food or 
medicine. This is wrong.
  Reports studying comparisons in prescription drug prices in the 
United States, Canada, and Mexico reveal that United States individuals 
pay much more for prescription drugs than our neighboring countries. In 
1991, the General Accounting Office (GAO) revealed that prescription 
drugs in the United States were priced at 34 percent higher than the 
same pharmaceutical drugs in Canada. Studies administered on 
comparisons between the United States and Mexico also reveal that drug 
prices in Mexico are considerably lower than in the United States. In 
both Canada and Mexico, the government is one of the largest payers for 
prescription drugs which gives them significant power to establish 
prices as well as influence what drugs they will pay for.
  Many Medicare patients have significant health care needs. They are 
forced to survive on very limited resources. They are entitled to 
medical treatments at affordable prices. H.R. 664 will benefit millions 
of patients each year. This bill will address many of the problems 
relating to prescription drugs and work to ensure that patients have 
adequate access to their basic health needs. Let's stop gambling with 
the lives of Medicare patients and support this plan to strengthen and 
modernize Medicare by finally making prescription drugs available to 
Medicare beneficiaries at substantially reduced prices. It is a matter 
of life or death