I, Dr. Nik Nikam, propose that the Federal Government should take charge of Medicare prescription drug costs and put a moratorium on the maximum the drugs should cost to the Medicare population.

Medicare is already managing Part A and Part B. It should make Medicare Part-D more affordable. It affects more than 61.5 million (2019) people who are Medicare recipients.

After looking at the Medicare prescription drug costs, I wonder how Medicare recipients living on social security can survive paying for these drugs. They have to make a decision about paying for their drugs or paying for their meals.

In 2019 The Federal Government brought a moratorium on the cost of Insulin to $35 per month. In the same year, a moratorium was placed on EpiPen. Do you remember the days when the greedy pharmaceutical company charged the Lifesaving drug Epi-Pen more than $800 per shot? That was basically robbing people of their lives and livelihoods.

Here are my proposals:

The Federal government can charge $0 to $25.00 per month, depending on the people’s income, toward the prescription drug coverage. 

It can be deducted from the SSI, as it is doing for the Part B premium.

Negotiate a Max price on most drugs (I mean 95%) to be no more than $0 to $10.00 per 3-month prescription, depending on the income. The extra premium could go to support the low-income Medicare patients.

Let any Mail order pharmacy, CVS, Walgreens, HEB, Kroger, or any other major pharmacy compete for the Medicare prescriptions. 

Medicare patients should be able to go to Medicare.gov and see which pharmacy offers the best total costs, with no deductible, co-pay, co-insurance, etc., other than the co-pay limit (Max $10 per prescription for 3 months) set by the Federal government. 

It can be done and has been done for Insulin and EpiPen. The Federal Government should dismantle this $485 annual deductible, donut hole, and the rest of the nonsense. These are only gimmicks to skim more money from poor Medicare recipients. 

This affects every family in the United States and everyone should know that it is costing you your life savings to pay for those medications.

In England, the National Health Service (NHS) has a fixed fee for each drug. There are similar limits on drug cost in many E.U. countries, Japan, and the rest of the world.

It is a travesty that aging Medicare patients in the United States have to decide between their medicines versus their evening dinner. This is not the gratitude that a great nation shows toward those who paid into the Medicare system all their lives.

If you belong to an association or a group, I will be willing to come and make a presentation to your group to educate them, at my own cost, if needed. I will travel to any city, any time and share with your group my thoughts

I have been a cardiologist for the past 40 years in Houston. More than 95% of the medicines I wrote were generic medicines.

Having a medical background (MD), a Masters in Healthcare Administration (MHA), and a Texas Health Insurance license, I understand the Medicare population better than anyone can.

Now, looking at the same Medicare population from a limited financial source, I can feel their pain and anguish. 

So. I humbly request you to sign this petition, discuss this with your congresspersons and senators, and demand that you need justice. They should be supporting you.

Please encourage all your friends and family to sign this petition.

Yours Sincerely,

NIK NIKAM, MD, MHA, DTM

CARDIOLOGIST

CEO: NNN Media

HOUSTON, TEXAS

drniknikam@gmail.com