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July 16, 2002
The Honorable Byron L. Dorgan
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Senator Dorgan:
Consumers Union supports your and Senators Jeffords, Wellstone, Stabenow, Collins, Snowe, and Levin's "Prescription Drug Price Parity for Americans Act" (S.2244). We applaud your efforts to create an avenue for consumers to obtain less costly prescription drugs through reimportation from Canada.
In the recent past, health care costs have been spiraling out of control, creating an increasing burden for consumers. Prescription drug spending is now the fastest-growing part of all spending for health care -- accounting for 9% of the total. Between 1999 and 2000 alone, prescription drug spending increased by 17.3% -- the sixth year of double-digit increases. Unfortunately, consumers in the United States often pay more for prescription drugs than those in any other major industrialized nation.
We believe that allowing wholesale and retail pharmacists to sell prescription drugs reimported from Canada could result in savings for consumers desperately in need of lower-priced drugs. Additionally, the legislation would benefit the public by allowing consumers to obtain a 90-day supply of a prescription drug from Canada legally -- when intended for personal use, and when prescribed by their doctor. To address some of the concerns raised about the safety of reimported drugs, we encourage regulatory and enforcement authorities to vigilantly monitor the effects of this legislation to ensure the continued purity, quality, and safety of the U.S. drug supply.
Consumers Union commends the sponsors of this bill for addressing this very important issue.
Sincerely,
| Janell
Mayo Duncan Legislative Counsel Consumers Union Washington, DC Office |
Gail
Shearer Director, Health Policy Analysis |
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