Cheap Medicines Coming Your Way As Senate Passes Key Bill

In May 2007, U.S. Senators voted 62 to 27 to pass an amendment to the 2007 Prescription Drug User Fee bill that aims to reform the FDA and enhance drug safety. The amendment, known as the "Pharmaceutical Market Access and Drug Safety Act of 2007," proposes what a free trade policy on prescription drugs. It would allow Americans to buy their drugs from certain certified organizations registered as valid importers or exporters. The bill states, "...a prescription drug is neither safe nor effective to an individual who cannot afford it," and continues to describe rigorous safety requirements that would be required by the amendment, including safety inspections and registrations. Overall it threatens to break Big Pharma's monopoly over pharmaceutical sales and allow U.S. consumers, cities, states and businesses to purchase their pharmaceuticals from safety-certified pharmacies located in Canada, Japan, the U.K. and other nations.

Americans currently pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. Canadians, Europeans pay far less for exactly the same drugs. Drug companies actually import many of the raw materials used to manufacture the drugs from other countries, meaning that some U.S. medicines are already sourced from countries like the U.K. and Germany, plus many of the world’s largest generic drugs manufacturers are based in the UK, from where much of their products are exported to be sold cheaply in Europe, Canada and even Mexico.

The chief purpose of restricting Americans from buying drugs from other countries appears to be to enforce a medical monopoly in America, forcing consumers to purchase drugs at the highest prices in the world, further expanding the profits of powerful pharmaceutical companies who exert strong influence over the Bush Administration and Republican lawmakers, (through contributing substantially to their re-election campaign costs).

If passed into law, (if it passes the House and is signed off by President Bush – an unlikely scenario as he will likely veto the bill) the "Pharmaceutical Market Access and Drug Safety Act" would save U.S. citizens, businesses, and many government entities billions of dollars each year by allowing them to source medications in a price competitive environment. Many cities and states are right now facing a real possibility of actual bankruptcy due to health care costs (mainly due to the cost of providing benefits to current and former government employees). A large percentage of those costs are spent on monopoly-priced pharmaceuticals. This amendment would set city and state governments free to finally engage in fundamental free market price comparisons and save substantial sums of money in sourcing the very same chemical medications for their employees and retirees. They sorely need this freedom to engage in trade so as to avoid bankruptcy. This is becoming increasingly urgent.

28 Republicans voted against the Pharmaceutical Market Access and Drug Safety Act, voting to enforce the pharmaceutical monopoly and keep the big pharmaceutical companies in control of virtually the entire U.S. prescription drugs market. There were no Democrats that voted against the amendment. So why would 28 Republican Senators vote against breaking-up a powerful monopoly and encouraging the use of free market economics to save the American consumer and local governments billions of dollars every year? The answer isn't particularly complicated: It's because nearly all of them have taken money from pharmaceutical companies over the years!