March 9, 2004

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

STATES CHALLENGE FEDERAL BAN ON IMPORTING CANADIAN DRUGS

Prescription drugs from Canada can be up to 100% cheaper than those sold in the United States. One hundred capsules of 100 mg Celebrex, taken for arthritis, sells for $72.30 in Canada and $144.98 in the U.S. Sixty 15 mg Prevacid tablets, taken for ulcers, costs $122.64 in Canada and $231.98 in the U.S.

There is no mystery about the price difference. Canadians pay less for prescription drugs because the Canadian government, like almost every government but ours, uses its vast purchasing power to negotiate cheaper prices from the drug manufacturers. By comparison, a provision in the recently enacted Medicare Prescription Drug bill expressly forbids the federal government from using its vast purchasing power to negotiate lower drug prices from manufacturers. And to make matters even worse, U. S. law forbids the importation of Canadian drugs by state and local governments and individuals.

A report by the Congressional Budget Office concluded that legalizing importation of drugs from Canada and Europe could cut drug spending by $40 billion over the next decade, including $4.5 billion in savings for the federal government.

The Federal Food and Drug Administration – FDA – has that buying drugs from Canada is risky because there is no way to guarantee that the drugs have been stored and labeled properly and no way to prevent the purchase of counterfeit or expired drugs. However, the FDA cannot cite a single incident of an American patient being harmed by Canadian drugs.

Nevertheless, the FDA is determining whether legal action should be taken against cities or states that defy the importation ban. The agency is questioning whether states’ Medicaid funds should be withheld if they use federal money to illegally import drugs. Drugs imported by states for Medicaid recipients would involve federal money, since the state and the federal government share the cost of the Medicaid program.

Let’s face it, the high prices we pay for drugs subsidize the much lower prices charged in Canada and other nations.

State and local governments and thousands of individuals have decided not to take this gross inequity lying down. In recent months, governors and mayors have pressured the FDA to allow them to fill prescriptions in Canada.

Minnesota Rx Connect is the first state-sponsored Web site that permits all residents to order prescriptions from two Canadian pharmacies at a 35% savings. The Minnesota plan, begun in 2003, requires customers to fax or mail their original prescriptions and the Canadian pharmacy, in turn, has a physician write a new prescription, fill it and mail the drugs to the patient. Minnesota spent $68 million in 2002 purchasing drugs for employees and their families; a 20% increase over 2001. Montgomery, Alabama has been allowing its 4,100 city employees and retirees to buy Canadian drugs for almost a year, saving up to $500,000 to date.

During the 2004 session, the Maryland General Assembly will consider legislation, SB 167 the Canadian Mail Order Plan, which would allow state employees and enrollees in state medical and prescription programs to buy drugs from Canada. It should be noted that according to the Maryland Health Care Commission, the cost of prescription drugs in Maryland has increased an average of 18% over the last three years.

By no means, can I support legislation that breaks the law, which SB 167 clearly does. We are a nation of laws. I believe in complying with the law, no matter how wrong I think that law is. Changing the law, not defying it, is the proper course of action to take.

However, as far as I’m concerned, federal law that prohibits state and local governments and individuals from getting cheaper drugs from Canada is grossly wrong. Currently, the federal government sees nothing wrong in protecting the huge profits of drug manufacturers, while telling people, like you and me, to bear the burden of soaring prescription drug prices. I find that position as incomprehensible as it is indefensible.

Sincerely,

Eric Bromwell