The long term solution is charity for the truly needy, and charity will increase still more as the government siphons less and less of the taxpayers’ income that it presently confiscates in ever increasing amounts.
Federal funding of prescriptions for seniors sounds really great. Unhappily it will be done at the expense of productive citizens many of whom are raising small children or are paying for their children’s college expenses. So we will have the richest segment of society, seniors, forcing the poorest segment of society, young families, to pay for their drugs.
As a physician and I see the practice habits of other physicians. For seniors who have no prescription insurance we tend to use generic drugs or enroll the patients in reduced-cost prescription plans that many drug companies now offer.
Another aspect of federal funding of medical care and prescriptions is the pressure put on us physicians by third party payers. At present, insurance companies harass us to do more with less. When the federal government pays us it will threaten us with criminal prosecution to do more with less. (It already has "life-imprisonment" penalties for physicians if their billing agency disagrees with the federal bureaucrats - STARK II federal law) Do seniors want to go to a doctor who is more concerned with obeying government mandates to stay out of prison or whose chief concern is the patient’s welfare?
The U.S. Constitution does not authorize taking money in taxes to spend on health care. I believe that Alexis de Tocqueville, a very famous French visitor to the U.S. in the 1830's was correct when he noted, "The American Republic will endure, until politicians realize they can bribe the people with their own money."
Also note that Canadian and Mexican drugs can already easily flow to the U.S. under the free-trade provisions between the U.S. and Canada. So savings in that area are already in effect.
I would repeal the limitation of a one month drug supply per crossing from Canada or Mexico that was put into effect about three and one-half years ago.
Constitution Party of Michigan - www.ConstitutionPartyMI.net