For Immediate Release:
Wednesday, May 18, 2005 

WASHINGTON D.C - U.S. Representative Dan Boren (D-Muskogee) joined support for a bill to grant Medicare the power to negotiate with drug companies for lower prices.  Using an unconventional legislative maneuver called a discharge petition, Boren and other Members are hoping to bring the bill to the House floor for an up-or-down vote.   

 

“All across Oklahoma, seniors and people with disabilities are forced to decide between buying the medications prescribed by their doctors and buying their groceries,” Boren said.   

 

“Many seniors in my district must take their pills only every other day, or take only one of the three or four medications their doctor has prescribed. No one should be forced to make that decision,” the lawmaker said. 

 

Boren argues that the Medicare drug law that passed Congress in 2003 did not do enough to bring down drug costs and actually prohibited Medicare from negotiating prices.  The legislation he wants to pass (H.R. 376) would reverse this provision and lower drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries. 

 

“Allowing Medicare to use the bargaining clout of its 44 million beneficiaries to get the best possible prices on prescription drugs spells relief for countless seniors in my district,” Boren said.    

 

Currently, the states, Fortune 500 companies, large pharmacy chains, and the Veterans’ Administration all negotiate drug prices for their customers and patients. 

 

“Why should Medicare be the exception?” Boren asked. “This isn’t a matter of cost or regulation – it’s a matter of right and wrong,” Boren said. 

 

H.R. 376 has bipartisan backing, but a vote on the bill was blocked because it lacks the endorsement of industry officials. Although rarely used, discharge petitions, like the one Boren signed, afford Members a way to bypass House leadership and bring a bill to the floor for a vote.  218 signatures are required to bring the bill up for floor consideration.

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