Currently, many large groups, such as HMOs, insurance companies, and hospitals, purchase drugs at a reduced price from the pharmaceutical companies. These are known as most favored customers. The Prescription Drug Fairness for Seniors Act will give Medicare beneficiaries a drug benefit card that they can use to purchase prescription drugs at reduced prices from participating pharmacies. The Government Reform and Oversight Committee estimates that seniors will be able to receive more than a 40-percent discount. This will be a much-needed, in fact, lifesaving, change for our nation's elderly citizens.
Many seniors pay at least one-half that amount for prescription drugs.
It is absurd to charge those individuals who can least afford it the highest prices for their needed medication. I've heard from seniors in my state that they not only are paying a huge amount of their monthly income for prescriptions, but that they don't know how they can deal with the prices that continue to rise. And our seniors are somewhat lucky in Vermont. There are two programs run by the state that give low-income seniors help with paying for their prescription drugs. This program allows seniors to pay just a few dollars a month for their drugs.