Congressional Corner from Senator Tim Johnson: How I’m Working To Lower Your Drug Bills

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Congressional Corner from Senator Tim Johnson: How I’m Working To Lower Your Drug Bills

Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD)

Congress is working on several issues that I believe are of interest to the readers of The Social Security and Medicare Advisor. I have introduced a bill that would provide greater access to affordable prescription drugs by reducing the amount of time it takes to bring generic drugs to the marketplace. The sooner a generic drug enters the market, the sooner patients, insurers and taxpayers will be able to save money by choosing the lower-cost therapy. My bill passed the Senate in the 107th Congress, but unfortunately did not pass the House of Representatives. Thus, I have reintroduced this legislation in the 108th Congress. Much needs to be done on the prescription drug front, but this is one possible way to ease the financial straits of many of our senior citizens.

Another way I’ve been working to ease the costs of prescription drugs for seniors is through a bill that I introduced that would make prescription drugs available at a substantially reduced price. The legislation would allow pharmacies that serve Medicare beneficiaries to purchase prescription drugs at the drugs’ low “average foreign price.” This could reduce drug prices for seniors by as much as 40%. You know, I often receive letters and phone calls from elderly couples who take turns getting their prescription drugs filled because they can’t afford both (or multiple) prescriptions. This is unconscionable.

I also want to mention one last effort that I am working on. Knowing how disruptive telemarketing calls can be—especially when we are trying to have quality time with our families—I have introduced a bill that would extend the ban on telemarketing to the evening dinner hours. I know that this is just a first step, as many seniors—some of them who are home during the daytime hours—are the targets for unscrupulous telemarketers, but I believe it’s an important first step to giving our seniors peace of mind.

In March, several Members of the TREA Senior Citizens (TSCL) Board, including my good friend Fred Athans (along with his wife, Barbara), met with my staff to discuss issues of importance to TSCL. I wish that I could have sat down with TSCL representatives personally, but I was attending a Budget Committee meeting at which we were discussing—among other issues—prescription drug accessibility and affordability.

You can be sure that I will do my best to ensure that the Congress enacts some substantive legislation to ease the burden for our seniors. I look forward to working with TSCL in order to do so.

July 2003