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Momentum Moving Forward for Drug Importation: AARP
Endorses Bills, Senate Aging Chair Affirms Support
Feb. 25, 2005 – AARP has announced their support
for House and Senate bills that will allow for the importation of
prescription drugs and the Republican Chairman of the Senate Aging
Committee, Gordon Smith, has pledged he, too, will
pursue legislation legalizing the
re-importation of prescription drugs. The momentum seems to be moving
toward some form of legalized drug importation in this Congress.
Although, there is still
strong pressure from the Bush administration and the pharmaceutical
industry to keep the less expensive imports from entering the U.S.
Seven major drug makers have threatened to stop supplying
Canadian companies that sell to the United States. The Canadian
government has even hinted they may stop their pharmacies from supplying
U.S. customers.
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Links |
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For details on House Bill 700 -
Click Here
For details on Senate Bill 334 -
Click Here |
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Seniors Unhappy with Medicare Bill, All Adults Want Imported Drugs:
New Survey
New Healthcare Survey Says Nation Ranks Healthcare
As A Top Priority
Jan. 11, 2005 – Seniors
are unhappy with the Bush administration’s Medicare program and 73
percent say lawmakers should work to fix the problem. Among all adults,
70 percent favor Washington allowing the importation of lower-cost
drugs. These are some of the findings in a new survey released today by
The Kaiser Family Foundation. “Health Care Agenda for the New
Congress” was prepared by the Harvard School of Public Health Survey.
More... 1/11/05*
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AARP supports H.R. 700, the bipartisan bill
introduced by Representatives Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO), Sherrod Brown
(D-OH), Tom Allen (D-ME), Marion Berry (D-AR), Dennis Moore (D-KS), Anne
Northup (R-KY), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), and Zach Wamp (R-TN). The
Emerson-Brown legislation is identical to S. 334, the Dorgan-Snowe
importation legislation. The legislation would allow for the safe
importation of prescription drugs, beginning with Canada.
The bipartisan Emerson-Brown bill, like the
Dorgan-Snowe bill, includes important safety standards that have been
urged by AARP. These include a system of registration, inspection, and
the tracking of imported drugs; anti-tampering and anti-counterfeiting
technologies; and labeling of imported drugs. The bills also include
requirements for a website and toll-free telephone number that can be
used by consumers to locate reputable sites for the purchase of imported
drugs.
The House bill has been referred to the House
Committee on Energy and Commerce. The Senate bill has been read twice
and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
On January 26, at the
first hearing of the Senate Committee on Aging in the new Congress,
Chairman Smith (R-OR), announced his plans to “pursue legislation
legalizing the re-importation of prescription drugs while improving the
safety of internet pharmacies.”
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“Estimates indicate more than 2 million Americans spend over $700
million each year on re-imported drugs and two thirds of that spending
is done on the internet,” Smith said. “I believe that we have become so
focused on debating whether importation should be legalized we have lost
track of the reality that importation is happening.”
In 2004, Chairman Smith and Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH) introduced the
Safe IMPORT Act (S. 2493) which set a strict timeline for legalizing
re-importation while regulating internet drug sales.
On the day of the
hearing the senators again introduced the legislation with Smith noting
that it should be viewed as a marker for future legislation.
“We need to face the facts about re-importation, and it is our duty to
protect Americans as they try to protect their health,” Smith said.
“Increased internet and cross-border sales are inevitable and I will be
working with my colleagues to pass a bill that improves safety. While I
am convinced of the necessity for legislative action, we also need to
preserve incentives for pharmaceutical companies to create life-saving
drugs.”
“AARP believes that measures preventing drug
companies from limiting supplies of drugs to suppliers and others from
which lower cost pharmaceuticals would be imported is also critical to
any prescription drug importation legislation. The legislative proposals
both protect the integrity of pharmaceuticals and provide a streamlined
process for consumers to access lower cost drugs,” said AARP CEO Bill
Novelli.
“Americans of all ages need access to lower priced
prescription drugs. There is no longer any question as to whether
importation should be legalized. Americans already are importing drugs.
We must ensure that a system that guarantees both safety and costs
savings is in place. AARP and our members will work hard this year for
enactment of this legislation,” added Novelli.
AARP is also embarked on a national prescription
drug affordability campaign which includes importation as one of several
measures to contain prices. Other steps include advocacy efforts to
reduce state prescription drug spending, a "Watchdog" program that
shines a spotlight on prices, educating consumers about the wise use of
medications, working to inform the public about the new Medicare law
including the Medicare drug discount cards and the Part D benefit that
will become available in 2006.
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