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It seems like every
week a new, breakthrough prescription drug becomes
available. Medical science continues to make
advances that would have been unimaginable a
generation ago, and the development of new
pharmaceuticals is no exception. Today’s medicines
have enormous power to improve and extend life, but
first those drugs must get to the patients who need
them. A lifesaving drug cannot save lives unless it
is affordable, and as the prices of prescription
drugs continues to rise out of control, more and
more Americans, especially seniors and the
uninsured, are unable to take advantage of new
medicines. Also, the recent revelation that the new
Medicare prescription drug benefit will cost
taxpayers more than $150 billion more than
originally thought makes containing drug prices even
more urgent. I recently introduced two bills that,
if enacted, will go a long way toward bringing down
skyrocketing prescription drug prices and ensuring
availability.
We have an
obligation and a responsibility to make sure we do
everything we can to provide accessible and
affordable prescription drugs, and one way to do
that is through a safe and reliable drug importation
system. Given our proximity to Canada, Mainers know
very well that people in other countries use the
very same medications we do, made in the very same
plants, yet they pay 35-55% less. On February 9th,
I introduced comprehensive, bipartisan prescription
drug importation legislation, the Pharmaceutical
Market Access and Drug Safety Act, with Senator
Byron Dorgan (D-ND).
One of
the most common arguments made by opponents of
prescription drug importation is that we cannot
allow it because we cannot ensure the safety of
imported drugs. First of all, my bill will allow
the importation of Food and Drug Administration
(FDA)-approved drugs only and imported drugs will
only come from countries with regulatory agencies
comparable to the FDA. In fact, many of the
medications in question come from the same
FDA-inspected plants which produce drugs for the
U.S. market. It doesn’t make sense to prohibit
registered importers from importing life-saving
medicines from other countries with safety standards
equal to ours, and in some cases even stricter.
Also, imported drugs must be tracked, examined, and
properly labeled by licensed pharmacists.
Anticounterfeiting measures will be employed to
secure the drug supply, and improved labeling
requirements will make tracking and even drug
recalls far more effective.
Given the fact that we
manage to ensure the safety of other imported
products such as food, I simply refuse to believe
that we in America are not up to the task of
creating a safe, reliable drug importation system.
The need for this legislation is undeniable -- and
the status-quo is indefensible -- because millions
of Americans who don’t have health insurance are
paying the highest prices for prescription drugs of
any country in the industrialized world.
In another
effort to directly address the crisis of
skyrocketing drug costs, on February 1st
I introduced the Medicare Enhancement for Needed
Drugs (MEND) Act with Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR).
This legislation, cosponsored by Senators Russell
Feingold (D-Wisc.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and
John McCain (R-Ariz.), would give the Secretary of
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
the specific authority to negotiate lower prices for
drug purchases through the Medicare prescription
drug benefit. By granting the Secretary the
authority to bargain for better prices in the same
way that private insurers and private businesses
negotiate for lower costs in bulk, we can level the
playing field for seniors. Outgoing HHS Secretary
Thompson has publicly voiced his support for this
authority, and incoming Secretary Mike Leavitt has
indicated to me that he is open to the idea. It
doesn’t make sense to wait until 2006 when the
Medicare prescription drug benefit comes into effect
-- we must utilize this tool to bring drug costs
down now.
The human
cost of skyrocketing prescription drug prices is
seen every day in our nation’s hospitals. We see it
in Maine and across the country - Americans whose
lives are harmed or shortened by the inability to
afford lifesaving medications. On top of that, if
prices are allowed to increase unchecked, the very
drug benefit the Congress passed to provide seniors
with relief could become threatened. Despite the
dire possibilities, I am encouraged by the broad,
bipartisan support in the Senate for the bills I
have introduced to deal with this problem. I urge
my colleagues to join me and pass this legislation
as soon as possible -- there is no doubt our
constituents need and expect us to act. |
