Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W-Va.) introduced the Medicare Drug Savings Act of 2013 that would produce savings without passing on costs to seniors. 

The act offers a worthwhile alternative to this approach, strengthening the Medicare program’s fiscal footing while shielding beneficiaries from harmful cost-shifting. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that restoration of Medicaid-level drug rebates for low-income Medicare beneficiaries would save the federal government $141 billion over 10 years. As federal budget negotiations continue, we urge you to consider the following critical facts :

When Medicare Part D was introduced in 2003, the goal was to provide seniors with cheaper prescription drugs, writes Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) in an  Op-Ed for the Duluth News Tribune . But, with the Part D "donut hole" and the clause that prohibits Medicare from negotiating drug prices, the burden of prescription drug costs has been a hardship for many of America's seniors over the past decade. 

This is a cross-post from  The Huffington Post  by Joe Baker, president of the  Medicare Rights Center .

As the approach of the so-called "Fiscal Cliff" nears, many advocates nationwide are making this message clear: Medicare benefit cuts are not an option. In a  letter  to the president and Congress, AARP states, "As we move forward, it is clear that older Americans want the focus of the debate to be on reducing overall health costs and not simply targeting Medicare and Medicaid for budget cuts." Just days after the election, a collective of the largest and most powerful progressive voices ran a Washington Post  advertisement  to the president and Congress that included, "No cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security benefits or shifting costs to beneficiaries or the states," as one of five guiding principles for reducing the federal deficit. Medicare Rights Center joined 146 national organizations in support of this very same  message .

Two years ago, President Obama signed a comprehensive health care reform package that is lowering costs, expanding access and contributing to deficit reduction.

Although the Affordable Care Act is not perfect and working family advocates are working hard to make sure it is implemented fairly, it’s a milestone on the path to guaranteed high-quality health care for everyone and has helped millions of families. Nonetheless, Republicans vow to kill the law. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on the law’s constitutionality in a case brought by a Republican legal challenge.

The Affordable Care Act has saved nearly 3.6 million people enrolled in Medicare $2.1 billion on their prescription drugs in 2011, finds a new report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says the health care reform law signed by President Obama in 2010:

Republican presidential campaign pyrotechnics can’t hide the record of a party that has turned its back on ordinary Americans. It’s worth remembering how, a year ago, the Republican-majority House of Representatives tried to repeal the 2010 Affordable Care Act.