2 Governors Stump for Drug Plan

Bangor Daily News
August 16, 2006
By Meg Haskell

ORONO — Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack was in Maine on Tuesday, appearing with Gov. John Baldacci in South Portland and Orono to promote the three-state prescription drug purchasing alliance known as the Sovereign States Drug Consortium.

Vermont is the third member of the consortium, which recently won federal approval and is expected to save the states millions in Medicaid drug costs by negotiating lower prices from drug manufacturers.

Vilsack, who is considering a run for the presidency in 2008, and Baldacci, campaigning for re-election to the Blaine House, visited a public housing complex for senior citizens in South Portland before heading north. In Orono, they visited the home of Democratic Party stalwarts Katherine and Stanley Musgrave and spoke to a small group of invited guests.

"I really want the people of Maine to appreciate how lucky they are to have this governor," said Vilsack, whose visit to the state was paid for by the Baldacci re-election campaign.

He said Baldacci's Dirigo Health initiatives have attracted national attention and have inspired many other states, including Iowa, to undertake innovative responses to the crisis in health care. He also praised Maine's recently restructured community college system, predicting it will have a positive effect on economic development in the state.

The drug purchasing collaborative is expected to save Iowa $11 million in Medicaid medications this year, Vilsack noted.

In Maine, state officials have estimated $5 million in savings this year. Maine officials have said several other states have expressed interest in joining the alliance.

Vilsack said the drug consortium's ability to negotiate lower prices is "precisely the thing we're not doing at the federal level" in the Medicare Part D drug benefit for Americans 65 and over. Under the terms of the 2003 Medicare Modernization Act, which created the Part D drug benefit, the federal Department of Health and Human Services is expressly prohibited from negotiating with drug companies. Vilsack called the provision "ludicrous."

By not lowering drug costs in the United States, where the majority of medications are developed, tested and manufactured, Vilsack said, "we're subsidizing lower drug prices for everyone except our own citizens."

The Iowa governor said public policy is driven by implicit values. Democrats, he said, believe in community values and in taking collective responsibility for the vulnerable. Some other groups, he said, ascribe to a theory of "social Darwinism: If you can afford it, great. If not, you'll just have to make do."

Baldacci said states are laboratories of innovative policy in health care, energy and other areas. In Maine, which has one of the oldest populations of any state, concerns of older residents should receive special attention, he said. "This is what defines us as a society," he said. "The Golden Rule says to treat others the way you want to be treated."

Milt Hillery, co-chairman of the Maine People's Alliance advocacy group, attended the gathering and brought along a shoebox full of medications he takes regularly. The 73-year-old Orono resident said he doesn't know the cost, because his wife's workplace insurance pays for the drugs. When she retires later this year, he said, he may be unable to afford his medications, even with the Medicare Part D benefit.

"We're hoping that before that happens, we'll get a more sensible program in place," he said, one that's easier to understand, that allows the government to negotiate lower prices for seniors as it does for veterans, and eliminates the yawning "doughnut hole" gap in coverage. "Basically, we need a plan that gets rid of the red tape," Hillery said.

Rep. Emily Cain, D-Orono, told Baldacci that the burden of expensive drugs and complicated coverage plans falls not only on senior citizens but also on family members and others in the community. She hears regularly from her constituents about the high costs and other problems associated with their medications, she said.

Stacie Sparkman, pharmacy specialist from the Eastern Agency on Aging, said the agency receives calls every day from senior citizens having trouble with the Medicare Part D plan. She is often able to connect them with state programs that can help them, she said.

"But so many people don't know where to turn for help," she said. Confronted with high prices at the drugstore, many seniors simply stop taking their medications and end up in the hospital. "We stabilize them there, then discharge them into a system that doesn't meet their needs," she said.

Baldacci noted that a series of community forums and the Blaine House Conference on Aging scheduled for September will provide an opportunity to air many issues, including prescribing practices, medication management and drug affordability. "At the end of the day, we'll be judged by how well we treat people," he said.

Vilsack and Baldacci had dinner reservations Tuesday evening at the restaurant Baldacci's in Bangor. Vilsack was scheduled to fly to Rhode Island later that night, where, he said, "there's an interesting governor's race going on."

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