HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	141
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

URGING THE UNITED STATES Congress to support legislation authorizing the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate lower drug prices on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries.

     WHEREAS, data provided by AARP Hawaii shows that half of all people in Hawaii, particularly those ages 50 and older and those with lower incomes, are concerned about being able to afford prescription drugs; and

     WHEREAS, slightly over half of Hawaii’s residents who are taking prescription medication on a regular basis say that paying for their drugs presents a financial burden; and

     WHEREAS, nearly one-third of our residents who regularly take prescription drugs report taking at least one significant cost-reducing measure to pay for their medication; and

     WHEREAS, the United States Congress has the opportunity to help reduce the cost of prescription drugs for Hawaii’s 155,000 enrolled Medicare Part D beneficiaries by strengthening the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) through supporting legislation to give the Secretary of Health and Human Services the authority to use the bargaining power of 43 million Medicare beneficiaries to help make prescription drugs more affordable; and

     WHEREAS, Hawaii families are counting on Congress to do everything possible to help make prescription drugs more affordable and accessible to beneficiaries under the MMA; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, the Senate concurring, that the Legislature urges the United States Congress to support legislation authorizing the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate lower drug prices on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and the members of Hawaii's Congressional Delegation.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Drug Prices; Medicare Beneficiaries