Posted on 09/22/2006 7:16:58 PM PDT by Wolfie
Republicans look to ease Canada drug import curbs
WASHINGTON -- House Republicans tentatively agreed yesterday to prohibit customs agents from seizing prescription drugs that Americans buy in Canada .
The deal would let Americans carry up to a 90-day supply of medication back from Canada without being stopped by customs agents, House and Senate Republicans said. But it would not let Americans fill prescriptions online or by mail order .
``This really breaks the dam, and it shows that it's only a matter of time before we pass a full-blown reimportation bill," said Louisiana Republican David Vitter , who led the fight in the Senate to prohibit the Homeland Security Department from seizing prescription drugs .
Vitter acknowledged that sales of drugs though mail order or through the Internet are significant: ``I think support for that is going to continue, and going to continue to grow, no matter what this bill says or doesn't say."
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
These restrictions are in place for the pharmaceutical lobby. Remove the law preventing Americans from importing drugs by mail and let the pharmaceuticals compete in the market.
Finally. Someone fighting for us senior citizens who have massive medication costs.
My inhaler in the US is $ 249.00 and the same inhaler, same company is $ 32.00 from Mehico. Something is wrong with this picture
I say get the government out of the equation entirely, and drug prices will fall on their own.
Don't hold your breath, unless your favorite color is blue.
The government is fixing the market for the drug companies.
Now it dangles a little benefit to those who are ambulatory and happen to live near Canada.
And we have a free trade treaty.
Of course. Hence the laws.
The drugs I've bought so far through a Canadian pharmacy were manufactured in Canada, England, New Zealand, and Turkey. How this is pillaging your drug supply, I have no idea. In the case of the Canadian Lipitor, my buying from you is putting money into your pockets and creating jobs. You don't like that?
Compete with who? The Canadian government who tells them what they can charge for their products? As long as Canada mandates price controls on manufacturers and acts as the only legal purchaser in Canada, market forces will never be allowed to work. You can't create a false market and then demand that suppliers compete. U.S. consumers will continue to shoulder the cost for developing new drugs as long as the Socialists in Canada behave like leeches, dictating what industry's profits should be, thereby forcing Americans to fund the massive R&D costs required to support drug development on their own.
That's Canada's problem. They chose their Socialist system, naturally, it will be exploited.
In many cases, compete with their own products; its a simple fact that a large difference in consumer prices enables arbitrage.
Manufacturers know the laws and the deal in Canada, and voluntarily choose to sell their products there. Do you think an elderly person cares about drug R&D that will occur after his lifetime? Frankly I myself would be quite happy to let the Canadian taxpayer fund my purchases.
Drug companies rightfully enjoy monopoly patent status on their products for a given time. If they want to attract these customers, they might want to consider lowering their domestic prices.
Foreign market restrictions should hardly be "competed" against with our own, especially one that serves an industry over the people. Drug companies are responsible for their own R&D to ensure their future profits; they don't need our government handing it to them on a silver plate.
Since drug companies are overwhelmingly publicly-traded companies, they cannot sell their product at a loss and maintain their fiduciary responsibility. The day the U.S. legalizes reimportation is the day that Canada will ban exportation of drugs. For if they do not, there will be nothing but generic drugs available to Canadians.
This issue is not about one country. It's about the fundamental right of Americans to shop around for the best deal. Around here, we go to Mexico for our expensive prescriptions. The Internet can make the world market available to people who don't happen to live near a border.
BUMP
Freepers crap all over the Canadian drug system because it fixes prices. Meanwhile, we a have a Medicare drug system the fixes prices too, only it fixes them at the higher level demanded by the pharmaceutical companies. Somehow that escapes their attention.
Buying drugs in a international free market is not "sponging off our neighbor". It's being able to buy from whoever offers the best prices at a given time.
So why haven't they?
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