[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 9 (Wednesday, February 2, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S877]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               MEDICARE ENHANCEMENT FOR NEEDED DRUGS ACT

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I am proud to join the Senator from 
Maine, Olympia Snow, and the Senator from Oregon, Ron Wyden as an 
original cosponsor of the bipartisan Medicare Enhancement for Needed 
Drugs (MEND) Act. This bill takes necessary steps to ensure that our 
seniors, and our taxpayers, receive the best price possible on 
prescription drugs under the new Medicare prescription drug benefit. 
One of the primary reasons I voted against the Medicare Modernization 
Act was because I felt that it did not go far enough in addressing the 
skyrocketing prices of prescription drugs. Without strong, proactive 
measures to keep the prices of prescription drugs in check, seniors 
will continue to struggle to afford their prescription drugs, even with 
Medicare's help, and the overall cost of the Medicare Program will 
continue to mushroom.
  There is bipartisan agreement that by prohibiting the Medicare 
Program from negotiating the prices of prescription drugs, the Medicare 
Modernization Act is actually failing to utilize the purchasing power 
of the Medicare Program. The MEND Act will repeal this prohibition, and 
allow--and in some circumstances mandate--the Secretary to negotiate 
the prices of prescription drugs. This type of negotiation will save 
taxpayers' dollars while reducing the costs of prescription drugs for 
Medicare beneficiaries.
  The MEND Act also provides Medicare beneficiaries and taxpayers with 
valuable information on the prices of prescription drugs under the new 
Medicare benefit. This reporting will ensure that the prices of the 
drugs most used by seniors do not go up just as the Medicare 
prescription drug benefit goes into effect. It will also ensure that 
seniors and others who depend on Medicare have the complete, accurate 
information they need when deciding upon a prescription drug plan under 
Medicare.
  It is important that we act now, in a bipartisan manner, to fix the 
flaws included in the Medicare Modernization Act before the 
prescription drug benefit begins next year. The MEND Act will help both 
those who depend on the Medicare Program, and those who have to pay for 
it, by acting to rein in the skyrocketing prices of prescription drugs.

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