[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

[[Page 786]]

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.