AARP Wages Campaign in Alaska to Help Lower Medicare Drug Prices
3 April 2007With the aid of 89,000 members, AARP is calling on U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Ted Stevens to stand with the overwhelming majority of Alaskans and vote to give Medicare the power to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices. Murkowski and Stevens are two of the few remaining Senators yet to publicly state their position on this important issue, and their votes are critical to the bill’s success. On Wednesday, April 4, AARP members throughout Alaska and across the country will be calling Senators and urging them to support legislation that could help lower Medicare drug prices for Alaska’s Medicare beneficiaries.
According to a recent AARP poll, 85% of Alaska residents want Medicare to leverage the buying power of 43 million Medicare members to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs. “You would think this would be an easy decision for Senator Murkowski and Senator Stevens. Our polls show that Alaska residents support giving Medicare the power to bargain for lower drug prices,†said Ken Osterkamp, AARP Alaska State Director. “AARP members want – and deserve - to know if Senator Murkowski and Senator Stevens will side with their constituents or with the pharmaceutical industry on this important issue.â€
Americans pay more than anyone else in the world for most brand-name drugs. In 2006, on average, brand name prescription drug prices increased 6.2 percent for a sample of 193 brand-name drugs widely used by older Americans. During that same period general inflation was just 3.2 percent. Older Americans are the largest consumers of prescription drugs, with a typical senior taking four prescriptions daily.
Giving Medicare the authority to use its bargaining power to negotiate with drug companies to help achieve even lower drug prices would strengthen the Medicare drug benefit even further. Earlier this year, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 4, the “Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act of 2007†by a bipartisan vote of 255 – 170. AARP strongly supported H.R. 4 and is now putting its weight behind passing similar legislation in the Senate. AARP is tracking key votes in the 110th Congress and reporting back to its 38 million members how Congress votes on legislation AARP members are interested in like health care. “Giving Medicare bargaining power is a key issue for AARP Alaska’s 89,000 members, and we will be letting them know how their elected officials voted on this matter,†said Osterkamp.
Contact: Ann Secrest (907) 762-3302 or (907) 230-6072
[source: adapted from an April 2, 2007 AARP press release]
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