AARP Applauds Drug-Price Negotiation Bill

The AARP, the United States’ largest lobbying group, voiced its support for Medicare drug price negotiations Friday.

The House is currently considering a bill that would allow the secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate with drug manufacturers to lower drug prices for the Medicare Part D drug benefit.

The bill is a common sense approach to … develop a workable negotiation process for prescription drugs, said William Novelli, chief executive officer of the group, which boasts 38 million seniors as members.

By leveraging Medicare’s significant buying power to augment the already strong foundation created by the Medicare Modernization Act, we believe the Secretary can achieve additional savings for beneficiaries, while improving the program and reducing costs for taxpayers, Novelli said.