    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 15 (Monday, April 17, 2000)]
    [Pages 785-786]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Statement on the Department of Health and Human Services Report on
    Prescription Drug Coverage

    April 10, 2000

        Today's release of the Department of Health and Human Services
    report on prescription drug coverage, spending, and pricing practices
    provides further evidence of the need for a voluntary, affordable
    Medicare prescription drug benefit that is available to

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    all beneficiaries. This report makes clear that uninsured seniors not
    only lack prescription drug coverage but also are denied the significant
    discounts and rebates that those with coverage receive. This price gap
    is wide and growing. It's time to level the playing field for both
    coverage and prices for all of America's seniors.
        Although the HHS report provides the most comprehensive analysis to
    date on prescription drugs, there is still much that needs to be learned
    and conveyed to the general public and to policymakers on this important
    issue. For this reason, I am also announcing that the administration
    will hold a national conference this summer on drug pricing and
    discounting practices and their impact on Medicare beneficiaries and
    pharmaceutical innovation. I believe this conference will help us
    determine how the best purchasing and quality improvement practices from
    the private sector can be incorporated into a Medicare prescription
    benefit.
        I am encouraged that there is growing support from both parties to
    address the prescription drug cost and coverage problems that burden our
    Nation's seniors and people with disabilities. As today's report makes
    clear, the challenge of prescription drug coverage for the uninsured and
    underinsured Medicare populations is one that afflicts millions of
    beneficiaries of every age and income level. However, we must make
    certain that any legislative proposal is more than a benefit in name
    only. As I have said repeatedly, the only way this issue can be
    adequately remedied is through a Medicare drug benefit that is
    voluntary, affordable, accessible, and administered competitively, using
    the most successful private practices to negotiate discounts on behalf
    of seniors. It should be enacted in the context of broader reform that
    modernizes and strengthens the program. I believe that the release of
    today's report shows how vital it is to reach this goal.