Can Medicare Part D be changed to adopt Price Negotiations?

[quantass]

This Medicare Part-D piece of garbage cant be real is it? I am not too familiar with American law but after reading Medicare part-d on Wikipedia i am appalled by this disastrous program. Ok, WTF?!? And I'm even more astonished at how this farce could pass congress when it is clear by its face proposal that it will put America in serious debt and be one of the biggest mistakes in world history. Where was the MSM on this during the day?

And look at those paydays by all those Republicans that quit congress to take $Millions at Pharma jobs after the bill passed!

So i wonder, how exactly could this bill pass with so little resistance when the only reality check that would be coming up time and again on MSM and in congress is the inability to pay for it....it's an unsustainable program that will be the death of any country. And worst of all is that it would get even more expensive for every year it stays enacted.

Sure pharma industry wrote the bill and lobbyists pushed for it and all republicans were bought and paid for to pass it but where was the MSM on this during the day....it seems quite a double standard that they wouldnt bring up this OBVIOUS problem, but yet talk endlessly about the public option being too expensive despite its long-term savings.

Sorry for the rant....my question...can Medicare Part-D be revised to incorporate government negotiations on drug prices? What would one need to do? And why hasn't anyone tried since it seems clear to me that adding this revision would be very big for healthcare reform. The obvious attack by republicans will be that "democrats are trying to take away medicare" but regardless of that one needs to force this revision through since this kicking the can thing is going to cost America so severely that it might be a 3rd world country in 50 years.

We have an issue in America and i think its time to change the constitution or whatever it is that separates receiving outside contributions since congress has been compromised for too long.

[katmondoo]

1. This is one of the worse programs ever

to push on the elderly, It is criminal. I'm 79 and am thankful that unlike others my age I do not have to take as many pills as most but it is still a terrible hardship. I thank that horrible Ginny Brown Waite for pushing it in Florida. May she never rest in peace.

[jody]

2. Good question because IMO every plan involving govt & corporations ends up penalizing We the People

and rewarding corporations and increasing donations from corporations to key politicians' campaign funds etc.

That's why I've been reluctant to declare "Mission Accomplished" for health-care reform until I've read the fine print and discovered how much corporate profits have increased.

[FrenchieCat]

3. Medicare Part D is the disaster that I have written about before.....

but many folks still didn't and don't understand what it is doing to this country!

Is Bush's Medicare Plan "D" enacted in 03 part of the problem?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8206100