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The following letters are in response to the Jan. 22 guest opinion "U.S. government interference for negotiating drug prices unwise," by Sen. Jon Kyl.

After reading Sen. Jon Kyl's guest opinion, I am reminded once again of the contempt Republican politicians have for the collective intelligence of the American public. The new Medicare Part D program is a mess. It functions primarily as a brand-new profit center for one of the greediest segments of corporate America.

We need to redo the Part D program entirely. This is too important an issue to be decided by apologists for corporate excess like Kyl. Why else would he try to tell us that negotiation is not an integral part of the free-market system? What other segment of our economy is forbidden by law from negotiating the best deal for its customers?

Of course, Kyl and his cronies could make this a nonissue by just extending the benefits Congress receives to the rest of us at the same cost he pays for his coverage.

I beg to disagree with Sen. Jon Kyl. I went on Medicare in November and soon discovered I will be one of those who will fall into the "doughnut hole." I downloaded the list of cheaper alternative drugs to Lipitor and took it to my doctor. She chose a totally acceptable substitute.

Eliminating drug ads on TV would save the pharmaceutical companies a lot of money, which could lower the cost of all drugs. After all, it is the doctors, not the patients, who should be making drug decisions.

Despite all my efforts to lower my drug costs, including mail ordering, I will still reach the doughnut hole. Recipients must remember it is the total cost of the drugs, not your cost paid, upon which the coverage limit is figured.

When Medicare Part D was passed, it was a case of something was better than nothing. Now it's time to review it and improve it.

In Sen. Jon Kyl's opinion piece, he mentioned that "Lipitor, a top-selling cholesterol-lowering drug, is excluded from the VA's drug benefit." However he did not mention that Zocor, another equally effective cholesterol-lowering drug, is included in the VA's drug benefit.

I know this because I have been receiving it from the VA for years and it works.

Sen. Jon Kyl's article is long on opinion but short on facts. Kyl would lead readers to believe that the Veterans Affairs program offers few medicines compared with Medicare and states, as an example, "Lipitor . . . is excluded from the VA's drug benefit."

I get Lipitor and fexofenadine through the VA because I failed both of the generics offered at the same price. Kyl says that under the law, the secretary of health cannot negotiate lower prices than Medicare Part D. Come on, Kyl, change the law.

Finally, Kyl fails to tell you that the VA saves between 50 and 58 percent from wholesale prices. Does he think we are stupid? He should focus on representing constituents rather than the drug companies.

Again, Sen. Jon Kyl proves he is a partisan ideologue with his remarks that if the government bargains for lower prescription drug prices, then this means "government interference." His remarks are meant to distort and manipulate rather than clarify or refine his position.

He and President Bush forget that we the people govern ourselves, and how could we interfere by simply legislating for ourselves that we receive the lowest prescription drug price? Every other Western democracy but the United States has its own government negotiate for the lowest price. So can we.

I doubt Kyl would complain of "familial interference" if a family decides to shop at a store where the lowest prices are already negotiated as opposed to a store where prices are higher.