There's nothing wrong with making a buck, and the research and development money spent by the pharmaceutical industry has created drugs that have saved and extended lives.  But the way those same companies price drugs to consumers has to change.

Medicare pays more for its prescription drugs than does the VA system.  Canada pays less for American drugs than Americans do.  Brand-name prescription drugs cost several times what generics do, with no additional benefit discerned in clinical trials.

Whether it's the doughnut hole in Medicare Part D, the government waiving its right to negotiate for bulk prices with drug providers, lifting the ban on the reimportation of US-made drugs sold in other countries at cheaper costs, or using biotechnology to create cheaper generic drugs, I pledge to push Congress and the President to reform our system to promote sane, equitable prices on pharmaceuticals for all in 2009.