Congressional Response: Representative Eliot L. Engel (D-17th, NY) Responds to Your Petition Concerning Prescription Drug Reimportation

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Congressional Response: Representative Eliot L. Engel (D-17th, NY) Responds to Your Petition Concerning Prescription Drug Reimportation

Thank you for contacting me regarding your concerns over the prices of prescription drugs. I appreciate the time you took to share your views.

Prescription drugs have become an integral component of health care for most Americans. For many, proper medication can replace the need for expensive and painful surgery. However, increasing cost is making it more difficult to obtain these lifesaving medicines. Traditionally, insurance coverage included prescription drug plans which kept expenditures on medicine relatively low. As drug costs have increased over the years, insurance plans have developed new policies which shift much of the cost back to beneficiaries. Although new insurance plans have helped control rising drug prices, pharmaceutical costs are continuing to outpace coverage, leading to more out-of-pocket expenses for consumers.

The issue of high prescription drug prices is hotly debated in Congress. There are many proposals aimed at reducing the cost of drugs, including allowing the reimportation of drugs manufactured in the United States but sent to other countries. Drugs from other countries are cheaper because foreign governments have price controls in place. Thus, Americans can benefit from those lower prices by buying their medicines from abroad. There is also legislation that would allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate lower prices for Medicare recipients and proposals to eliminate direct-to consumer advertising which many blame as the reason for increased utilization of medicines. I support many of these efforts and believe that Congress must address the problem of sky-rocketing drug costs immediately. It is my hope that the Congress would consider legislation that eases the burden of high cost medicines for all Americans. Please know that this is an issue of great importance to me, and I will do all I can to ensure that all Americans have access to affordable prescription drugs.

Once again, thank you for sharing your thoughts. Please keep in touch.

November 2004