Being a conservative I’ve never been a big fan of President Bush’s Medicare prescription drug entitlement, but one good thing you can say about the program is that it still allows drug prices to be negotiated between the individual and the pharmacy.  Democrats however, apparently appalled by the autonomy enjoyed by those enrolled in the Medicare system, have been pushing what they’re calling a “fix” to the prescription drug entitlement.  A fix that would have the government negotiating prices with drug companies before any given drug can be available to Medicare users.

The Democrats claim that this will make drugs cheaper.  And maybe it will or maybe it won’t, but one thing it is certain to do is reduce the variety of prescription drugs available to Medicare users.  Don’t believe me?  You don’t have to.  There is already one government program that negotiates drug prices with drug companies.  It’s the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, and because of the “negotiating” (if you could say that a government agency ever really negotiates with private businesses) people enrolled in the VA health care system have access to only a fraction of the drugs available to those in private health care plans, or even those using Medicare.

...the VA benefit is a terrible model for Part D. While Medicare ensures access to virtually any FDA-approved medicine, the VA drug formulary is extremely restricted.

Only 19 percent of drugs approved by the FDA since 2000 are listed on the VA formulary, and only 38 percent of drugs approved in the 1990s are listed. That’s why Medicare offers more than 4,300 different drugs while the VA plan offers only around 1,300.

The cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor, for example, isn’t on the VA’s list, even though it’s shown remarkable success at lowering the risk of heart attack and stroke.

So, Democrats, which 3,000 prescription drugs will you choose to deny Medicare enrollees while you’re doing your “negotiating” with the drug companies?