Both parties accused the other of using the issue to shore up the support of senior citizens ahead of November's presidential and congressional elections. Unfortunately, their program is fundamentally flawed. The problem of rising prescription drug prices was highlighted by the release of a report showing that prices for the 50 prescription drugs most widely used by seniors have risen, on average, twice as fast as the inflation rate over the past six years. The issue is also of high concern to AARP, the nation's largest retiree group. A large portion of those out-o expenses went to purchase prescription drugs.
Talk is cheap.
They're expensive, and they're getting more expensive every day. Seniors need help now. In a related move, Sen. Slade Gorton, R-Wash., announced plans to introduce legislation that would prohibit drug makers from charging higher prices to Americans than they charge for comparable medications sold abroad. Gorton said his office has done research showing that prescription drugs are often sold in Canada, Mexico and elsewhere around the world for a fraction of the prices charged in this country. The reason, he said, is that drug manufacturers seek to recoup their production costs, as well as their research and development costs, through their U.S. sales, while only hoping to recover manufacturing costs through their sales overseas.