HM 0541 2004
1	House Memorial
2	A memorial to the Congress of the United States, urging
3	Congress to support the Medicare Prescription Drug Savings
4	Act of 2003.
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6	WHEREAS, prescription drug prices have risen between 14 and
7	19 percent during the past 4 years, which is five times the rate
8	of inflation, and
9	WHEREAS, the value of the prescription drug benefit
10	authorized under the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement,
11	and Modernization Act of 2003 recently passed by Congress will
12	diminish each year if such inflationary trend continues, and
13	WHEREAS, such federal act prohibits Medicare officials from
14	negotiating directly with pharmaceutical companies for lower
15	prices, and
16	WHEREAS, the United States Department of Defense, the
17	Veterans Health Administration, and the Indian Health Service
18	have achieved great savings through negotiation with
19	pharmaceutical companies, and
20	WHEREAS, negotiation and competition with respect to
21	prescription drug prices is in the best interest of Floridians
22	on Medicare, and
23	WHEREAS, the Medicare Prescription Drug Savings Act of 2003
24	amends the recently passed Medicare Prescription Drug,
25	Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 to allow direct
26	negotiation of prescription drug prices with pharmaceutical
27	companies, NOW, THEREFORE,
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29	Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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31	That the Congress of the United States is urged to pass the
32	Medicare Prescription Drug Savings Act of 2003.
33	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
34	dispatched to the President of the United States, to the
35	President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the
36	United States House of Representatives, and to each member of
37	the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.