Minnesota Senate Democratic Candidate Al Franken Advocates for Proposals To Lower Drug Prices for Seniors

Minnesota U.S. Senate Democratic candidate Al Franken on Wednesday said the federal government should negotiate with drug companies to lower seniors' drug prices, permit re-importation of prescription medications from other countries and ban mass-market drug advertising, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. Franken said these proposals, which have been suggested by other candidates and in previous years, could move forward if enough Democrats are in the Senate next year (Stassen-Berger, St. Paul Pioneer Press, 7/30).

Franken said his opponent -- Sen. Norm Coleman (R) -- is participating in "a massive betrayal of Minnesota seniors" by supporting a provision in the Medicare Part D program that prohibits the federal government from negotiating with drug companies to lower prices (Doyle, Minneapolis Star Tribune, 7/30). A recent U.S. House oversight committee report found that Medicare insurers would have reduced spending on the top 100 drugs by $3.7 billion had Medicare been able pay the same prices negotiated by Medicaid in 2006 and 2007 (St. Paul Pioneer Press, 7/30).

Franken said Coleman was "rewarded handsomely" by the pharmaceutical and health products industry for his support of the Medicare drug benefit. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the industry contributed $204,000 during this election cycle to Coleman's campaign.

Franken also advocated a ban on drug advertising to consumers because such commercials "drum up pharmaceutical sales by encouraging patients to specifically request medication that their medical providers might otherwise not have prescribed."

Coleman Reaction
Coleman spokesperson Mark Drake noted that the senator was one of six Senate Republicans who joined Democrats and voted to take up a bill last year that would have allowed Medicare to negotiate drug prices. Drake added that Coleman would support government negotiation to lower prices if the measure guaranteed seniors would not be denied access to needed medications (Minneapolis Star Tribune, 7/30). Drake added that Coleman would support authorizing drug re-importation from other countries if it did not limit access to common prescription drugs and the process was deemed safe (St. Paul Pioneer Press, 7/30).