Washington, June 21: US President Barack Obama praised a plan to cut costs of prescription drugs for the elderly a “turning point” in the nation’s effort to overhaul health care, in a statement released late Saturday. Obama heralded the agreement reached following negotiations between Democrat Senator Max Baucus from Montana, and the nation’s top drugmakers, which would offer 80 billion dollars over 10 years to help elderly Americans afford medicine and cut the costs of enacting sweeping health care reforms.
“This deal will provide significant relief from that burden for millions of American seniors,” Obama said in a statement. “We are at a turning point in Americas journey toward health care reform.” Democrats in Congress drafted a bill to expand health-care coverage and cut rising healthcare costs. Critics have questioned such sweeping legislation as too expensive, with estimates putting it at least USD 1.6 trillion.
–Agencies