“This historic week in Congress, Representatives from every district in our nation have set upon some important, long-awaited tasks.  There will undoubtedly continue to be some in Washington who choose divisive partisanship over substantive policy.  However, others are setting out upon the 110th Congress as an opportunity to create commonsense policies for the nation we serve.

 

During this new national debate, it is important to separate the wheat from the chaff, and in doing so identify legislative needs for the nation.  Good ideas will simplify, not complicate, government programs like the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit.  That law contained a provision that explicitly prevented the Department of Health and Human Services from negotiating a lower price for the millions of beneficiaries who are enrolled in the Part D program.

 

In particular, one legislative effort I have long advocated is in the works – a measure to allow the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to negotiate on behalf of taxpayers and beneficiaries for the bulk purchase of prescription drugs.  This model has been very effective at the Department of Veterans Affairs, where the prescription drug needs of eight million beneficiaries are planned for, and purchased, in bulk quantities.  The practice literally saves millions of dollars, helping to keep veterans’ copayments low and freeing up funds for other important programs for veterans.

 

There is absolutely no reason to continue to dilute the buying power of 40 million Americans on the prescription drugs that, in many cases, are more expensive, gram-for-gram, than gold.

 

For the more than 40 million enrollees in the Medicare program, a similar policy has the potential to save millions more.  Instead of buying one prescription at a time, the Department of Health and Human Services ought to be able to negotiate the purchase of thousands of prescriptions for thousands of patients who require them.  An idea with the promise of reforming a federal program which needs every penny allocated to ensure its solvency, this measure ought to earn consensus support from a wide majority of members of Congress.

Cooperation to achieve this goal will signal that the new Congress is serious in its approach to eliminating waste, preventing fraud, and ensuring programs truly work for the Americans they are designed to help.  Enforcing fiscal responsibility will require diligence from members of both political parties and rigorous debate in Congress.  It will require good ideas and hard work. 

 

Solving the inefficiencies in the Medicare program is a good start as we bring these principles to bear on the great amount of work ahead of us. 

 

Much will be made of the first 100 hours in the 110th Congress, but it is going to be the next two years which will tell the tale of whether we can count on consensus and commonsense to solve real problems.  In the case of Medicare, there can be no ignoring the massive savings that can be achieved through a policy of negotiation.  There will be more opportunities like these ahead, including market access to safe, affordable prescription drugs in Canada, and my colleagues in Congress must seize them.”