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SALAZAR AD: “MARGO” :30
THE FACTS:
Health Care Costs Were Up 14.7 Percent in 2002 According to William M Mercer Inc., the average total health benefit cost per employee nationally rose 14.7 percent in 2002, from $4,924 per employee to $5,646 per employee. (Assembly, 7/1/03) Nearly One-Third Of Non-Elderly Coloradoans Without Health Care In 2002-03 According to a Families USA study of US Census data, during 2002-03, 32.1 percent of Colorado’s non-elderly population (those under 65 years old) were without healthcare. This represented over 1.3 million Coloradoans. (Families USA, “One-In-Three: Non Elderly Americans Without HealthInsurance,” 6/04, www.familiesusa.org) CMMS: Rising Out-of-Pocket Drug Costs Were Biggest Cause Of Out-Of-Pocket Health CareCost IncreasesAccording to Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which administers Medicare and helpsadminister Medicaid and SCHIP, “Over half of the increase in out-of-pocket spending for all healthservices came from increases in out-of-pocket spending for prescriptions drugs in 2002.”(www.cms.hhs.gov/statistics/nhe/historical/highlights.asp) Health Care Costs Up By Double-Digit Percentages For Fourth Consecutive Year, Avg CostMarked At Nearly $10KAccording to a September 2004 analysis of Census data by the non-partisan Kaiser FamilyFoundation, from 2001 to 2004 the average premium for a family of four grew to $9,950 annually.
Overall, health care costs saw an 11.2 percent jump from 2003 and the fourth consecutive year ofdouble-digit cost growth. (AP, 9/10/04) CO Employer Health Insurance Costs Up Over 50 Percent Since 2001According to Kansas City, Mo.-based Compdata Surveys, the total cost of health insurance toemployers in Colorado and Utah rose an average of 52.3 percent between 2001 and 2004. (AP,9/10/04) Won: Under Salazar, Colorado Received Share Of $100M Anti-Trust Settlement With understands what it’s like for us.
In July 2000, Salazar announced that Colorado would share in a $100 million federal anti-trustsettlement by Alzheimer drug manufacturers Mylan Laboratories (of Pittsburgh, PA) and three other companies, with the proceeds dedicated to state and consumer reimbursement. The settlement came as a result of a 1999 joint lawsuit filed by 33 states (including Colorado) and the Federal Trade Commission charging that Mylan and its suppliers had developed a plan in 1997 to substantially increase the costs of two popular generic Alzheimer’s medications, lorazepam and clorazepate, byreducing their competitors supplies of the active ingredients in the drugs. Mylan subsequentlyincreased prices on the drugs over 2,000 percent: for a 1,000 tablet supply, he price of clorazepaterose from $22.72 to $754, and the price of lorazepam went from $13.60 to $378. Salazar estimatedthe total costs to consumers at an additional $140 million to $180 million over two years. (AssociatedPress, 7/13/00; www.ag.state.ar.us/ppd/pdrugpr.htm) 9/27/01: Salazar Sued Three Drug Companies For Antitrust Violations That Forced The StateAnd Consumers To Pay For A “Expensive Brand-Name Drug When A Cheaper GenericVersion Would Have Been Available”On September 27, 2001 Salazar filed suit against Geneva Pharmaceuticals of Broomfield and twoother prescription-drug manufacturers for violations of antitrust laws. Hytrin was a brand name for adrug produced by Illinois based Abbott Laboratories, who was also named in the suit, Hytrin wasprescribed to provide relief for those with hypertension or an enlarged prostate. Salazar alleged thatthe companies had entered into “illegal agreements” which prevented the generic version of a drugHytrin from getting to consumers. The suit alleged Geneva Pharmaceuticals “accepted illegalpayments of $4.5 million each month from Abbott Laboratories in exchange for not marketing itscheaper generic version of the drug,” said the Rocky Mountain News. The “illegal agreements”ultimately hurt consumers and the state of Colorado who had paid for the drugs for people underMedicare. Salazar said that the actions of the three drug companies, “forced [consumers] to pay foran expensive brand-name drug when a cheaper generic version would have been available.” Salazarpointed out that the state had been paying $137.23 for a bottle of 100 10-milligram Hytrin capsules,and that the same bottle in the generic version, which costed $18.22. Salazar’s suit sought damages,civil penalties, and injunctions on behalf of the Colorado governmental agencies who had purchasedand reimbursed patients for buying Hytrin. (Rocky Mountain News, 9/28/01) Salazar Announced $41.8 Million Settlement With Knoll PharmaceuticalOn July 29, 1999, Salazar and 36 attorneys general from around the country announced a $41.8million settlement with Knoll Pharmaceutical Co. over the company’s marketing of its thyroidmedication Synthroid, having said that it violated consumer protection laws by falsely claimingSynthroid was the most effective medication of its type. Colorado’s share of the claim was about$936,000. (DP 7/30/99) Won: Salazar Sued Drug Maker Accused of Lying To Delay Generic SalesOn Dec. 12, 2001, Salazar and 29 other states sued pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers for preventingthe sale of a generic drug designed to help anxiety disorders. The suit claimed that Bristol-Myers liedto the USDA to prevent the marketing of a generic version of their anxiety drug BuSpar. Salazar saidthat Colorado consumers had been paying $131.21 rather than the $86.43 price that it would have costfor the generic version of the same drug. In January 2003, BMS settled the lawsuit for $535M. (DP12/13/01; National Law Journal, 1/13/03) Salazar Has Concrete Plan To Reduce Health Care Costs For Colorado Families lower healthcare costs in the Senate. As part of his Senate Action Agenda, Ken Salazar proposed a concrete and detailed plan to help reduce the cost of health care for Colorado families. Steps include: KLS: It’s time to make affordablehealth care a top priority. I’m Ken  Providing a tax credit of up to 50 percent to help small businesses (those with less than 50 employees) provide quality health coverage to their employees;  Expanding the CHIP program and provide new tax credits to help parents purchase health  Authorizing the creation of voluntary purchasing groups to make more choices widely  Immediately creating of a program to regulate the safe importation of prescription drugs from Canada by licensed American pharmacists.
(http://www.salazarforcolorado.com/the_issues/affordable_health_care.html?showid=2)

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