Yesterday's vote on "government pricing" of prescription medicines garnered the fewest votes of Speaker Pelosi's "First 100 Hour" pieces of legislation. Legislators are seeing the light.
As Everett Dirkson was fond of saying, "When I feel the heat, I see the light."
And the heat is from America's seniors who are pleased with the Part D drug benefit.
And the heat is from, among other places, the Washington Post. Here is what America's lawmakers woke up to find in their own Newspaper of Record:
The Wrong Prescription
Government should not negotiate drug prices in Medicare.
HOUSE Democrats delivered on a campaign promise yesterday, passing a bill that would require the government to negotiate the price of pharmaceuticals covered by the new Medicare drug benefit. The idea is that government negotiators could force prices down, generating savings that could be used to make the benefit more generous. But the measure is misguided.
Here's a link to the complete editorial:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/12/AR2007011201885_pf.html
And the most unhappy fella in DC today is Rahm Emanuel -- sponsor of the Newspeak-named "Pharmaceutical Market Access and Drug Safety Act which demands "world pricing" as well as drug importation.
If only 24 Republicans voted for HR 4, the chances for Mr. Emanuel's legislation are about as good as Nancy Pelosi calling for a statue of Charlie the Tuna in Dupont Circle.
Here's what Mr. Emanuel's constituents woke up in today's Chicago Sun-Times:
Cheaper drugs would come at a steep price
BY PETER J. PITTS
U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) has announced legislation "aimed at driving down the price of prescription drugs." But the only thing such legislation would actually drive down is pharmaceutical innovation.
And here's the link to that article:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/otherviews/209130,CST-EDT-REF13A.article
Even the New York Times is reporting that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) study on "government pricing" shows that direct negotiations wouldn't save America's seniors any money.
America's legislators are beginning to feel the heat of truth and see the light of day -- that "government pricing" and quick fixes like drug importation are false promises -- and that the American people know it.
As Everett Dirkson was fond of saying, "When I feel the heat, I see the light."
And the heat is from America's seniors who are pleased with the Part D drug benefit.
And the heat is from, among other places, the Washington Post. Here is what America's lawmakers woke up to find in their own Newspaper of Record:
The Wrong Prescription
Government should not negotiate drug prices in Medicare.
HOUSE Democrats delivered on a campaign promise yesterday, passing a bill that would require the government to negotiate the price of pharmaceuticals covered by the new Medicare drug benefit. The idea is that government negotiators could force prices down, generating savings that could be used to make the benefit more generous. But the measure is misguided.
Here's a link to the complete editorial:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/12/AR2007011201885_pf.html
And the most unhappy fella in DC today is Rahm Emanuel -- sponsor of the Newspeak-named "Pharmaceutical Market Access and Drug Safety Act which demands "world pricing" as well as drug importation.
If only 24 Republicans voted for HR 4, the chances for Mr. Emanuel's legislation are about as good as Nancy Pelosi calling for a statue of Charlie the Tuna in Dupont Circle.
Here's what Mr. Emanuel's constituents woke up in today's Chicago Sun-Times:
Cheaper drugs would come at a steep price
BY PETER J. PITTS
U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) has announced legislation "aimed at driving down the price of prescription drugs." But the only thing such legislation would actually drive down is pharmaceutical innovation.
And here's the link to that article:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/otherviews/209130,CST-EDT-REF13A.article
Even the New York Times is reporting that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) study on "government pricing" shows that direct negotiations wouldn't save America's seniors any money.
America's legislators are beginning to feel the heat of truth and see the light of day -- that "government pricing" and quick fixes like drug importation are false promises -- and that the American people know it.
