News Intelligence Analysis
21 National Organizations
Send a Letter of Protest to Congress
Editor's note: AARP is not
among them!
AFL-CIO Alliance For Retired Americans
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees
American Federation of Teachers Americans For Democratic
Action
Center For Medicare Advocacy, Inc. Common Cause Consumer
Federation of America Consumers Union International Brotherhood of Teamsters International
Union, UAW Medicare Rights Center National Association for
the Advancement of Colored People National Committee to
Preserve Social Security and Medicare National Consumers League
National Senior Citizens Law Center PACE International Union
Service Employees International Union Teamsters Transport
Workers Union United Steelworkers of America
December 8, 2003
Dear Senator:
The Medicare prescription drug benefit that narrowly passed
Congress in November fails to rein in runaway prescription drug
costs, which recently have grown 17 percent per year, seven times
the rate of inflation. In fact, the measure actually prohibits
the government from negotiating deep prescription drug discounts
for seniors, even though other federal departments, including
the Veterans Administration and the Department of Defense, have
achieved significant savings through direct negotiations with
drug companies.
Without the government’s ability to negotiate drug prices,
the average senior on Medicare will pay more out-of-pocket for
drugs in 2007 when the benefit is fully implemented, then what
they currently pay now without the so-called “benefit.”
Consider this -- the average Medicare recipient who now spends
$2,318 a year for drugs without prescription drug coverage will
pay $2,911 out-of-pocket in four years under the plan if drug
costs continue their historical increase.
It’s no wonder seniors and the disabled are outraged
over the Medicare drug benefit, and consumers are stunned by
this giveaway of their tax dollars to pharmaceutical companies.
We know Congress can save money for consumers and taxpayers by
simply ensuring that the purchasing power of the government is
properly used to negotiate lower drug prices.
This is a common sense approach that has been proven by other
federal agencies, and it is absolutely essential in this era
of spiraling federal deficits. As representatives of national
consumer, citizen and labor organizations, we urge you as soon
as possible to correct this egregious flaw that will cost taxpayers
and Medicare beneficiaries billions of dollars each year.
Sincerely,
AFL-CIO
Alliance For Retired Americans
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees
American Federation of Teachers
Americans For Democratic Action
Center For Medicare Advocacy, Inc.
Common Cause
Consumer Federation of America
Consumers Union
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
International Union, UAW
Medicare Rights Center
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
National Consumers League
National Senior Citizens Law Center
PACE International Union
Service Employees International Union
Teamsters
Transport Workers Union
United Steelworkers of America
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