11
Nov
2003
According to a recent news story in a Des Moines newspaper, Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack "is taking heart from Illinois' conclusion that it could safely save millions of dollars by helping state employees buy prescription drugs through Canada."
I live in Illinois and carefully read our governor's recent report on the cost and safety of importing drugs from Canada. Iowans would do well to resist the temptation of following my state's lead in this area.
The rhetoric is persuasive, until one looks more closely at the facts. State governments and low-income people in the U.S. already pay much less than retail prices for prescription drugs thanks to Medicaid - which requires that drug companies charge their lowest prices or else pay hefty rebates - and discount cards issued by major drug companies. Once those discounts are taken into account, many drugs cost as much in Canada as in the U.S.
Importing drugs from Canada is not safe now and would be increasingly unsafe under the scheme envisioned by our governors. The Illinois governor's report points to laws on the books in Canada and inspections of a small number of pharmacies and triumphantly concludes that Canadian drugs are as safe as, or even safer than, those in the U.S.
But the real issue is whether drugs imported from Canada would be safe if imports increased tenfold. Health Canada, the counterpart to our U.S. Food & Drug Administration, admits Canadian authorities cannot detect counterfeit and adulterated drugs entering and leaving the country now, even without legal exports to the U.S.
According to an October 31 article in the Ottawa Citizen, so far this year imports of medications into Canada from Bulgaria are up 300 percent, from Pakistan 196 percent, from Argentina 171 percent, and from South Africa 114 percent. According to the reporters, "An analysis prepared by Prudential Financial suggests most of those imports are then being shipped on to the U.S."
There is no way to ensure that drugs coming from Canada were not manufactured in countries that might be hostile to the U.S. or have low safety standards. The damage to the integrity of the U.S. drug supply of even one state breaking ranks and allowing importation would be immense, costing hundreds of millions or billions of dollars to repair. Lives will be threatened and almost certainly lost before this dangerous experiment is repealed.
Will Governor Vilsack still be in favor of importation when the first Iowan dies from a counterfeit drug imported from Canada under the program he approved? Will his name be on the first lawsuit filed on behalf of the survivors' families? You can bet Iowan taxpayers will be on the hook for damages and punitive awards.
Iowa's politicians, like Illinois', are playing politics with the health and lives of their residents for insignificant and fleeting savings. Voters should beware!
Joseph Bast is president of The Heartland Institute and publisher of Health Care News. He can be reached at ( jbast@heartland.org).
I live in Illinois and carefully read our governor's recent report on the cost and safety of importing drugs from Canada. Iowans would do well to resist the temptation of following my state's lead in this area.
The rhetoric is persuasive, until one looks more closely at the facts. State governments and low-income people in the U.S. already pay much less than retail prices for prescription drugs thanks to Medicaid - which requires that drug companies charge their lowest prices or else pay hefty rebates - and discount cards issued by major drug companies. Once those discounts are taken into account, many drugs cost as much in Canada as in the U.S.
Importing drugs from Canada is not safe now and would be increasingly unsafe under the scheme envisioned by our governors. The Illinois governor's report points to laws on the books in Canada and inspections of a small number of pharmacies and triumphantly concludes that Canadian drugs are as safe as, or even safer than, those in the U.S.
But the real issue is whether drugs imported from Canada would be safe if imports increased tenfold. Health Canada, the counterpart to our U.S. Food & Drug Administration, admits Canadian authorities cannot detect counterfeit and adulterated drugs entering and leaving the country now, even without legal exports to the U.S.
According to an October 31 article in the Ottawa Citizen, so far this year imports of medications into Canada from Bulgaria are up 300 percent, from Pakistan 196 percent, from Argentina 171 percent, and from South Africa 114 percent. According to the reporters, "An analysis prepared by Prudential Financial suggests most of those imports are then being shipped on to the U.S."
There is no way to ensure that drugs coming from Canada were not manufactured in countries that might be hostile to the U.S. or have low safety standards. The damage to the integrity of the U.S. drug supply of even one state breaking ranks and allowing importation would be immense, costing hundreds of millions or billions of dollars to repair. Lives will be threatened and almost certainly lost before this dangerous experiment is repealed.
Will Governor Vilsack still be in favor of importation when the first Iowan dies from a counterfeit drug imported from Canada under the program he approved? Will his name be on the first lawsuit filed on behalf of the survivors' families? You can bet Iowan taxpayers will be on the hook for damages and punitive awards.
Iowa's politicians, like Illinois', are playing politics with the health and lives of their residents for insignificant and fleeting savings. Voters should beware!
Joseph Bast is president of The Heartland Institute and publisher of Health Care News. He can be reached at ( jbast@heartland.org).
