The Honorable Tammy Baldwin United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515
Dear Representative Baldwin:
On behalf of the millions of members and supporters of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, I am writing to express our support for the Negotiating for Seniors Act, which would allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to negotiate lower prescription drug prices for seniors on Medicare. Under current law, Medicare is prohibited from negotiating lower drug costs for Part D, resulting in seniors paying more for needed medications.
Negotiating prescription drug prices has lowered costs for individuals receiving military, veterans and Medicaid benefits, and we believe that the Secretary should be permitted to bargain for lower prices for Medicare beneficiaries. Our nation needs to find ways to lower overall health care expenditures without impairing the quality of care offered, and your legislation, if enacted, helps accomplish this. We also appreciate that the Negotiating for Seniors Act would require the savings from prescription drug negotiations to go back into the Medicare program to help strengthen the program and maintain its long term solvency.
Thank you for your commitment to protecting seniors and future generations from high drug costs by allowing the Secretary of HHS to negotiate on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries. We look forward to working with you to secure enactment of the Negotiating for Seniors Act.
Sincerely,
Max Richtman
President & CEO