A lot is at stake. Drugs keep people healthier and out of hospitals. But U.S. pharmaceuticals do not want the government buying their products on behalf of America's seniors. They fear price controls, or the likelihood that such a large buyer could demand deep discounts. Currently, drug manufacturers negotiate lower prices with large customers like health insurers, managed care organizations, the Veterans' Administration and state Medicaid programs, but these savings do not extend to most Medicare beneficiaries.
Pharmaceutical companies make huge profits on their drug sales here.
For example, a September 1998 study by Public Citizen's Health Research Group comparing the cost of eight leading antipsychotics and antidepressants in the U.S. and seventeen other countries in North America and Europe found that Americans pay anywhere from 1.7 to 2.9 as much for their medication. Every day, we pay more as consumers and taxpayers for special interest subsidies and boondoggles because of our system of privately financed elections. It's time for a change. Send copies of this message to your friends and join the growing movement for real campaign finance reform.