The AARP is trying to bully members of Congress into legislating government interference in your prescription drug program. When was the last time more bureaucratic red tape improved any program?
It hasn’t, but I have joined in introducing legislation that will cut prescription drug prices by making lower-priced generic drugs more readily available.
In the five years between 1999 and 2004, brand name prescription drug prices for the medications most widely used by seniors skyrocketed 35 percent, more than twice the rate of general inflation.
Of those top 25 drugs, the only one that didn’t have a price increase was a drug available in both generic and over-the-counter form. It’s significant when you consider that generic drugs cost about $72 less than brand name prescriptions.
The way to lower the cost of medicine is simple: Make generic drugs more readily available and close loopholes that drug companies now use to maximize their profits by delaying their drugs from becoming generic.
Trent Lott
Clarion Ledger
4/17/7
Magnolia Tribune
