The Cherokee Ledger News recently reported that Dr. Price voted not to let Medicare negotiate drug prices to help save both the program and retired Americans money. He did so against the wishes of the AARP and in contrast to most of his colleagues in congress. The Veterans Administration does negotiate prices, and saves vets millions.

Why the “no” vote, you ask? Because he’s bought and paid-for by the medical lobby. His votes are easy to predict. If the bill moves money into the hands of the medical lobby, he’s all over it. If it moves money out of the medical industry, it’s a no-go (I’m sorry, it’s “bad for patients”).

But let’s take a look at Price’s excuses:

• “The less involvement government has in medical care, the better.”
–So does this mean Price wants to eliminate Medicare? No, I didn’t think so. This is just meaningless rhetoric.

• 90 percent of AARP members support giving Medicare the power to bargain for lower drug costs.
– To them Price says, “I’m sorry that AARP’s taken such a partisan approach on this.”

• “Washington bureaucrats will decide which drugs will be available for patients, not from a scientific or safety standpoint, but purely based on money. Many drugs would be knocked off the approved list if Medicare had the power to negotiate, resulting in a smaller choice of drugs being available to seniors”
– False. The bill (unfortunately) did not authorize Medicare to remove a non-discounted drug from coverage. The stronger Veterans Administration policy does.

• “Nobody negotiates with the federal government. The federal government tells you what to do.”
– Well, he voted to make sure the first sentence remained true.

• “Government never has quality in mind when it comes to medical care; its whole objective is decreasing costs.”
–As opposed to health insurance companies, who think of nothing but quality and don’t care about expenses? Sure.

• “The free market has continually proven more adept at lowering expenses.”
–Whoops, I thought it was the government that was manically focused on decreasing costs. Well, his quote is true, if you realize it’s referring to health insurance company expenses, not patients’ out-of-pocket expenses.

• “Many quality physicians have been forced out of business by Medicare requirements.”
– Even if that’s true, it was no doubt due to Medicare’s reimbursements for office visits and other direct physician care, not its prescription reimbursement policies.

Hey Tom…Guess What??? I am a DUAL due to multiple medical problems ALONG with being a transplant patient! It’s the DUALS that are being raped right now and prepared for burial starting next January 1st!

And sir, as to your comment regarding Canada’s pricing system being subsidized by taxes….WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK IS PAYING FOR PART “D”, Bushes Fairie Dust that he smoked or snorted in College????

Canada’s pricing system is low mainly for the reason that the drug maufacturers do NOT have the EXPENSES that they have here in the USA….THEY are NOT permitted to ADVERTISE their drugs as they do here in the States and so their cost of doing business is MUCH lower and so are their drug prices!

Don’t count out the “duals” just because the republicans are hoping that we all roll over and die next January……it ain’t gonna happen cause we “duals” have this funny way of fighting like hell to stay alive and become VERY vocal when IDIOTIC and UNTRUE statements are made such as what you posted! Remember, a lot of the “duals” are well educated, life-long voters and taxpayers who, due to medical circumstance, became eligible for Medicaid and then Medicare, due to a catestrophic illness or injury! I pray that you and all others NEVER have to find out just WHAT it means to fall into the “Dual” category! It is a very “special” Medical Hell that the republicans in power at that time sentenced us to….and I also pray that the Democrats in Power now do something about it….and do it QUICKLY so we “duals” can survive after January 1, 2007!

Bullet point #3 ONLY applies to the duals…if any of you liberal monkeys know what that means!

You want Canada’s prices but you want Americas access to physicians and procedure timelines…sorry you can’t have it both ways. The Canadian pricing system is subsuidized by TAXES. Is that what you want higher taxes??

Why do you think Ambien is one of the biggest selling drugs in the US?

That’s how they are able to sleep at night!

On Oct. 6th I celebrated, to a degree, my 94th birthday. I also had the experience of paying $780.80 for a 12-day supply of prescribed antibiotics. While the medication was for an intestinal disorder, when seeing the bill, I thought for a moment I’d need something for my heart as well.

I guess Bartlett thinks that’s reasonable! I wonder what world he lives in?