Legislative Update: State Pilot Projects Could Help Pave the Way For Safe Prescription Drug Importation

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Legislative Update: State Pilot Projects Could Help Pave the Way For Safe Prescription Drug Importation

By Patty Gaul, Director of Legislative Affairs, TREA Senior Citizens League

In recent weeks, TSCL’s legislative team has continued our efforts to see that the market is open to more affordable prescription drugs. Your legislative team — David and Betty Funderburk and myself — recently spent an extensive amount of time on Capitol Hill, where we heard a considerable number of concerns over the safety of imported drugs.

Many of the critics of the “re-importation” of cheaper prescription drugs say their opposition would be less so if legislation would cover the importation of drugs from Canada only, rather than including some European nations. Other opponents are so strident that until the Secretary of HHS certifies the safety of prescriptions, those Members will oppose the legislation.

Recently, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich made a statement aimed at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on this issue: “If it’s safe, stop doing the dirty work for the drug manufacturers, and start giving people the chance to save some money. If it’s not completely safe just yet, instead of just throwing up your hands and refusing to deal with the issue, let’s work on finding ways to make it safe.”

Governor Blagojevich and Governor Pawlenty (MN) are leading the charge on this issue at the state level. The two Midwestern Governors co-hosted a Governors’ summit on prescription drug importation in late February. New York Mayor Bloomberg, Governor Vilsack (IA), and Mayor Michael Albano of Springfield, MA are among those attempting to save money while providing their citizens with safe, more affordable prescriptions.

We believe the current momentum may create enough pressure on the federal government to act, and we are excited about the programs that are currently being implemented at the state and local level. We believe such pilot projects will help the case that prescriptions received from Canada are indeed safe.

TSCL Chairman George Smith often speaks his mind about the safety issue in meetings with Members of Congress and their staffs. He says, “We seniors would rather take a miniscule risk of an unsafe drug from Canada than the very real risk of not having a life-saving prescription at all because we can’t afford it.”

TSCL is continuing to bring the issue up and do whatever we can to make market access a reality at the federal level. We often hear from Congressional staffers that the TSCL website is a valuable resource on information about drug reimportation.

May 2004