They clearly wanted no government interference in Medicare part D. I knew because an ad on a news website led me to http://www.nogovinterference.org/.

But I could not figure out what had them so upset. After all, Medicare part D is a government program so why shouldn’t the government be involved and how were they interfering or proposed to start interfering.

The website was mostly uninformative. It consisted of a single page that looked like something you might see on a bulletin board or attached to a telephone pole. It seemed to have something to do with rationing and price setting. This would have several bad effects but I still didn’t know what government interference had been proposed or how it would lead to the bad effects. I did know that the website was paid for the American Conservative Union.

I did a little searching on the internet an found S.41 – Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act of 2017.

That is my best guess as to what the “no government interference” people are upset about. But maybe I am wrong. And this website is all about something else.

I read the text of the bill and saw nothing about rationing or price setting. Just about try to negotiate a lower price a saving seniors some money The bill did specifically mention a few safeguards that should prevent the problems mentioned to the website.

My reading of the bill suggests that the opponents of S. 41 are more concerned with preserving profits of the pharmaceutical industry than the quality of healthcare. Are there reasons to suspect this bill and the potential saving for seniors could have ill effects?