Congressman Jim Cooper says the Republican proposal to cut Medicare costs goes too far. The Nashville Democrat says the kind of voucher program it calls for would put an undue burden on seniors. Cooper would rather trim the federal deficit by having Medicare use its massive buying power to bargain for cheaper medicine.
Some federal systems, like the Veterans Administration and Medicaid, use their size to strike deals with pharmaceutical companies, getting some 40 percent off. But Medicare isn’t allowed to, even though Cooper says it’s the largest buyer of medicine on the planet.
“The bottom line is the United States is the only country left on earth that pays full retail prices for our medicine. No other country pays these prices, so why are Americans being discriminated against?”
Cooper says drug companies are fighting tooth and nail in Congress, arguing they’d lose money needed for research. To that, Cooper argues that those same companies “waste” billions on marketing and TV ads.
RAW AUDIO:
Cooper on the deficit fight and Medicare.
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