[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 176 (Tuesday, December 9, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S16133]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DASCHLE (for Mr. Feingold):
  S. 1994. A bill to amend part D of title XVIII of the Social security 
Act to strike the language that prohibits the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services from negotiating prices for prescription drugs furnished 
under the Medicare program; to the Committee on Finance.
  (At the request of Mr. Daschle, the following statement was ordered 
to be printed in the Record.)
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, today I am introducing a bill 
that will fix one of the fundamental flaws in the new Medicare 
prescription drug benefit. The ``Efficiency in Government Health Care 
Spending Act'' will remove language included in the new benefit that 
prohibits the Medicare program from negotiating prescription drug 
prices with manufacturers. The new Medicare prescription drug benefit 
does far too little to bring down the prices of prescription drugs. In 
fact, it actually takes away one of the best tools the Medicare program 
could use in bringing down prescription drug prices by denying the 
government the ability to negotiate price discounts on behalf of 
Medicare beneficiaries. My bill will allow the Federal Government to 
take advantage of the purchasing power of the Medicare program 
Medicare, saving millions of taxpayers' dollars while reducing the 
costs of prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of this legislation be printed 
in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1994

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Efficiency in Government 
     Health Care Spending Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) Prohibiting the Federal Government from negotiating 
     prescription drug prices with manufacturers fails to take 
     advantage of the purchasing power of the Medicare program.
       (2) Negotiating prescription drug prices can reduce the 
     costs of prescription drugs for both the Medicare program and 
     taxpayers.
       (3) A 2002 study by the inspector general of the Department 
     of Health and Human Services found that--
       (A) both the Medicare program and the beneficiaries of the 
     Medicare program continually pay too much for medical 
     equipment and medical supplies; and
       (B) if the Medicare program paid the same prices for 16 
     health care supplies as the Department of Veterans Affairs, 
     which directly negotiates prices with manufacturers, pays for 
     those supplies, the Federal Government could save 
     $958,000,000 each year.

     SEC. 3. ELIMINATION OF PROHIBITION OF NEGOTIATION OF PRICES.

       (a) Repeal of Noninterference Provision.--
       (1) In general.--Subsection (i) of section 1860D-11 of the 
     Social Security Act, as added by section 101 of the Medicare 
     Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 
     2003, is repealed.
       (2) Conforming amendment.--Subsection (j) of section 1860D-
     11 of the Social Security Act, as added by section 101 of the 
     Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization 
     Act of 2003, is redesignated as subsection (i).
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall take effect as if included in the enactment of section 
     101 of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and 
     Modernization Act of 2003.
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