Medicare Drug Benefit Boon to Drug Companies
The Bush Administration's recent Medicare "improvement" legislation proved to be a complete fiasco. Elderly in need of life saving drugs where not covered by the program, and a reported increase of $800 billion to the cost of prescription drugs to the government and its beneficiaries over the next decade.
According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, the provisions entered at the request of pharmaceutical companies into the Medicare drug program will cost taxpayers and seniors more than $80 billion a year.
Keep in mind that Big Pharma contributed a total of $96 million in campaign contribution funds from 2000 to 2004. Consider the new Medicare provisions to be the payoff. Industry profits will swell an estimated 500 to 600 percent as the new legislation goes into effect.
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