Making Medicines Affordable Homepage

Senator Byrd's
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One of the major challenges facing the elderly of West Virginia is the ever-increasing cost of their prescription drugs.  Many of these senior citizens live on fixed incomes, and many are unable to afford these high priced, but necessary, medicines.  In fact, many senior citizens have been forced to make the troubling decision between paying for their medicine or paying for food, heat, or other necessities.  The Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage Act that I am cosponsoring would create a universal, voluntary prescription drug benefit in the Medicare program.  The benefit would provide all Medicare beneficiaries with affordable coverage for drug costs and give beneficiaries bargaining power that they lack today.

The Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage Act contains several important aspects:

Voluntary, universal benefit in Medicare
Affordable premium for all beneficiaries
Comprehensive benefit
Private-sector administration of benefit
Access to local pharmacies and needed medicines
Access for beneficiaries in rural and hard-to-serve areas

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