October 24, 2017
The Honorable Bernard Sanders
332 Dirksen Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Senator Sanders:
On behalf of the millions of members and supporters of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, I write to endorse your legislation, the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Act.
Your proposed legislation:
- permits Medicare to negotiate directly with manufacturers;
- directs the Secretary of the Department of Health & Human Services to either establish a Medicare Part D formulary or direct plan sponsors to make certain changes to their own formularies for drugs that are under price negotiation;
- prioritizes negotiation for drugs that are high-cost, have had significant price increases,
drive up Medicare Part D spending, or lack competition; - when negotiations fail, allows the Secretary to obtain fallback prices for drugs including
the price paid by direct government purchasers such as United States Department
of Veterans Affairs; and - requires drug manufacturers to provide a rebate to the federal government for drugs
covered under Medicare Part D for low-income Medicare beneficiaries.
This legislation would provide Medicare with powerful tools to bring down rising Part D drug costs and provide seniors with some relief from high out-of-pocket costs. The National Committee therefore enthusiastically supports the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Act.
Thank you for your leadership on this vital issue.
Sincerely,
Max Richtman
President and CEO