I didn't do it. Besides, it was an accident. Yes, that appears to be the drug industry's line on allowing Medicare to offer its own prescription drug plan and negotiate prices directly with the industry. The NYT gives us the official line from the drug industry's allies in the Bush adminisitration. Allowing Medicare to offer its own benefit would not save any money because the prices paid by the private insurers are already so low. It then cites the complaint from Ken Johnson, senior vice president at Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America that "allowing Medicare to negotiate directly would be unfair because the government had too much market power." It then quotes Mr. Johnson, �The government doesn�t negotiate prices -- it dictates prices." Well either the Bush administration is right or the drug industry is right, but they can't both be right. (Yes, a good news story would have made this contradiction clear to readers.) I vote with the industry. Barring illegal collusion by the drug companies, Medicare would be able to negotiate prices comparable to what they pay in Canada. This would make it possible to eliminate the doughnut hole for beneficiaries and save the taxpayers some money as well.
--Dean Baker
