Drug Re-Importation Will Lower Prescription Drug
Costs Free-Market Approach Benefits American
Consumers
This week, members of a joint House and Senate committee reached an
agreement on proposed legislation which would allow the re-importation of
prescription drugs into the U.S. The proposal, part of a fiscal year 2000
appropriations bill scheduled for a House vote next week, faces some opposition
from both Congress and the administration. However, I believe widespread public
concern over the high cost of prescription drugs will convince lawmakers and the
President to support this needed reform.
Many widely used drugs made by American companies sell for far less in
Europe, Canada, and Mexico. Undoubtedly you have seen news reports featuring
seniors taking bus trips across the Mexican or Canadian borders to buy their
needed drugs. As a physician and member of Congress, this greatly disturbs me.
U.S. citizens never should be forced to leave their own country simply to obtain
affordable prescription drugs.
Drug re-importation legislation will help reverse this unfortunate
situation. The proposed measure allows U.S. citizens, pharmacies, and drug
wholesalers to re-import prescription drugs manufactured in the U.S. This
legislation is badly needed to allow our citizens to benefit from worldwide
price competition. Clearly, when we permit Americans to import drugs, the result
is increased competition and lower drug prices.
Legislation I introduced earlier this year would go farther in creating
beneficial price competition for pharmaceuticals. The "Pharmaceutical Freedom
Act" (H.R. 3636) eliminates needless FDA regulations which prevent Americans
from buying low-cost drugs from foreign and Internet pharmacies. The Act also
provides seniors with a tax credit of up to 80% of their prescription drug
expenditures. My approach applies free-market principles to the problem: drugs
become more affordable when we encourage price competition and provide tax
relief to offset drug expenses. The free-market approach lets you and your
doctor choose the prescription drugs that are appropriate for you.
Unfortunately, many prescription drug proposals coming out of Washington
take a different approach and put drug decisions in the hands of federal
bureaucrats. We are told that massive new federal expenditures are the answer to
the drug cost problem. More taxes must be sent to all-knowing federal health
bureaucrats, who will decide what drugs you need. Of course, proponents of the
governmental approach won’t tell you that they want to lower drug costs through
price-fixing schemes (which inevitably lead to the rationing of drugs) or
through subsidies to insurance and pharmaceutical companies (which stifle price
competition). Furthermore, bureaucrats won’t admit that the current regulatory
regime is a major cause of high drug prices. They just want to expand it and
limit your choices in the process.
The administration’s plan would grant the FDA new investigative powers to
monitor online drug sales. The administration also wants to impose massive
penalties on non-complying online pharmacies and increase the FDA budget for the
hiring of more online snoops. As usual, the government’s approach to the problem
is more government; in this case increased FDA regulations to bring all online
pharmacies under federal control (even those which comply with existing state
laws). Of course, contrary to conventional wisdom, the FDA is not an independent
agency working to "protect" you. Instead, government regulators have worked
hand-in-glove with powerful pharmaceutical industry interests for more than a
century. Is it any wonder that the FDA and its lobbyist-influenced regulations
have done nothing but drive up the price of prescription drugs?
The proposed crackdown on online pharmacies simply serves the existing
entrenched pharmaceutical interests at the expense of price competition. As a
result, you and I end up paying more for our prescriptions. However, the
re-importation agreement reached this week encourages me that others in Congress
are beginning to favor the free-market approach. Undoubtedly many are responding
to polls showing that a large majority of Americans support drug re-importation.
I applaud my colleagues who support the measure, and I plan to use this momentum
to seek passage of the "Pharmaceutical Freedom Act." Congress must allow all
Americans to benefit from worldwide price competition for prescription
drugs.