Prescription Drug Costs Becoming Big Issue in South Dakota Senate Race

The Washington Times on July 23 examines the "hotly contested" U.S. Senate race in South Dakota, where the Senate "impasse" over prescription drug legislation has become an important issue. In the campaign, Rep. John Thune (R-S.D.) has said that incumbent Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) "offers no real solution" to the problem of increased prescription drug costs. "Johnson has spent an enormous amount of his congressional career talking about prescription drugs, but he has never voted for a bill that's passed. He's talking about something that's never going to become a reality," Thune campaign spokesperson Christine Iverson said. The issue has become "critical" in South Dakota, where many seniors reside in rural areas and cannot afford to purchase prescription drugs. The Senate began debate on prescription drug legislation, including two Medicare prescription drug benefit bills, last week. The House last month passed a Republican-sponsored bill (HR 4954), which Thune supports, that would allow Medicare beneficiaries to purchase prescription drug coverage directly from private insurance companies. Dan Pfeiffer, a Johnson campaign spokesperson, said that "there is still hope" that the Senate will pass a Medicare prescription drug benefit bill before the Aug. 2 recess. Pfeiffer added that South Dakota residents should "remain incredibly skeptical" of the House bill, which pharmaceutical companies support (Boyer, Washington Times, 7/23).