HEARD ON THE BEAT / <i> Buzz from the Business World</i>

Lower Drug Bill: A bill aimed at providing discounts of up to 50% on the prices that Medicare recipients pay for prescription drugs was introduced in the state Assembly on Wednesday.

The bill, by Assemblyman Martin Gallegos (D-Baldwin Park), would require pharmaceutical companies to provide seniors of “modest income” with the same discounts given to large purchasers such as HMOs and the federal government.

Pharmaceutical companies that don’t comply would be excluded from participation in the state’s Medi-Cal program.

A similar bill has been introduced at the federal level, but its prospects of passing the Republican-controlled Congress are generally believed to be slim.

“There’s a better chance of us being able to do this in California than on the federal level,” Gallegos said, citing Democratic control of both the legislature and the governorship.

The pharmaceutical industry has fought similar bills in Congress.

Meredith Mayo, spokeswoman for the trade association Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America, said that the industry agrees that seniors who cannot afford prescription drugs constitute a serious problem.

But, she said, it would be better to expand Medicare to cover prescription drugs than to institute mandatory pricing.