[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 86 (Wednesday, June 15, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S3836]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ROCKEFELLER (for himself, Mr. Bingaman, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. 
        Blumenthal, Mr. Brown of Ohio, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Franken, and Mr. 
        Merkley):
  S. 1206. A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to 
require drug manufacturers to provide drug rebates for drugs dispensed 
to low-income individuals under the Medicare prescription drug benefit 
program; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the 
Medicare Drug Savings Act of 2011. I am proud to be joined by my 
colleagues Senator Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, Senator Debbie Stabenow 
of Michigan, Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Senator Sherrod 
Brown of Ohio and Senator Barbara Boxer of California, in introducing 
this important piece of legislation.
  The Republican budget would end Medicare as we know it, replacing it 
with a voucher program that would double seniors' out of pocket costs 
and leave them at the mercy of private insurance companies. It would 
also decimate the Medicaid program, leaving millions of vulnerable 
individuals including seniors, children, and people with disabilities 
with nowhere to turn for care. We need to responsibly reduce our 
deficit, but taking away health care for seniors and other vulnerable 
people should be off the table. Rather than dismantling Medicare and 
Medicaid, we can save hundreds of billions of dollars by holding drug 
companies accountable and using the purchasing power of the federal 
government to negotiate lower drug prices.
  That is why we are introducing the Medicare Drug Savings Act. The 
bill will eliminate a special deal from the 2003 Medicare prescription 
drug law that allows drug companies to charge Medicare higher prices 
for some seniors' prescription drugs. It would require prescription 
drug manufacturers to pay rebates to Medicare for dually eligible 
beneficiaries in Medicare and Medicaid. This proposal would reduce the 
deficit, saving taxpayers an estimated $112 billion over the next ten 
years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Similar proposals 
were also included in the recommendations from the President's 
Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, and the President's 
framework for deficit reduction.
  Prior to the creation of the Medicare prescription drug program, 
brand-name drug manufacturers paid a drug rebate for dually eligible 
beneficiaries in Medicare and Medicaid. However, when the new Medicare 
drug program was established, drug companies no longer had to provide 
these rebates, resulting in windfall profits for prescription drug 
manufacturers, at taxpayers' expense.
  The Medicare Drug Savings Act would require prescription drug 
manufacturers to provide a rebate for drugs provided to dually eligible 
beneficiaries as well as all other enrollees in the low-income-subsidy, 
LIS, plan in the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Program. 
Manufacturers would be required to pay the difference between the 
lowest current rebates they are paying to private Part D drug plans, 
and, the percentage of Average Manufacture Price, AMP, they currently 
pay under Medicaid, plus an additional rebate if their prices grow 
additional inflation. They would be required to participate in the 
rebate program in order for their drugs to be covered by Medicare Part 
D.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill. In doing so, we will 
protect Medicare for seniors, and end a giveaway to drug companies that 
is costing taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars.
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