This is the latest attack on Medicare Part D by the Democratic Party. A bill was introduced today to empower Medicare to negotiate with drugmakers and make greater use of evidence about safety and effectiveness. The legislation was trumpeted by two consumer groups, Consumers Union and the Medicare Rights Center, as an alternative to Medicare Part D, which they lambasted as “dysfunctional,” due to cost, coverage gaps and consumer exposure to marketing fraud thanks to divergent benefit packages.

The idea is to create an alternative to privately run programs. “Under current law, Medicare beneficiaries are stuck with confusing, costly plans designed by insurance and drug companies. What seniors deserve is an affordable, straightforward drug benefit,” Durbin says in a statement. “This legislation will give them the choice of a drug plan operated directly by Medicare - just like all other Medicare benefits - and require the Administration to negotiate on behalf of seniors to bring down the exorbitant costs of needed medications.”

“We know that the private insurance companies aren’t getting the best deals for consumers on prescription drugs,” says Bill Vaughn, a senior policy analyst at Consumers Union. “Let’s let Medicare – which Americans know, trust and count on for their health care coverage – offer prescription drug coverage, too.”

The legislation, dubbed the Medicare Prescription Drug Savings and Choice Act, was introduced by Dick Durbin, a Democratic Senator from Illinois, and two Democratic members of the House - Marion Berry of Arkansas and Jan Schakowsky of Illinois. Whether the measure has a realistic chance of becoming reality is unclear. But it arrives just one week after Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released a highly critical report of Medicare Part D, which itself was quickly criticized by Republicans as flawed and biased.