Cheap drugs from Canada (or elsewhere) sounds great. Drug importation is workable for the individual, but not a solution for our societal drug cost problem. Robert Goldberg makes this economic argument clear – Don’t Blame Canada
The fact is, there is only a limited amount of drugs that can be supplied at price-controlled levels worldwide. No degree of safety and surveillance can change the laws of supply and demand. Europeans and Canadians are able to get quality drugs at lower prices only because Americans pay free-market prices that fuel research and development.
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Canada’s reaction is not isolated. When Illinois tried to set up a program to have people buy drugs from Ireland, which has many drug-manufacturing plants, the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association called the Illinois program “totally unworkable and impractical.†It raised concerns about the effect of the proposal on the Irish prescription-drug supply. The association’s spokesman said that it “would cause enormous problems for us to meet our local obligations here.â€
Again, just as in Canada, there is only enough of the most popular medicines in the European market to meet domestic demand at price-controlled levels and not one pill more. European leaders would not allow U.S. consumers to siphon off drugs and drive up prices any more than the Canadians would. Can anyone imagine Jacques Chirac allowing France — with some of the lowest prescription-drug prices on earth — becoming America’s drug store?
Importation proponents want us to believe that somehow the laws of supply and demand don’t apply to prescription drugs. Do they really believe that private companies can provide all the drugs we want, now and in the future, at half the price they do right now? That’s a market miracle I would like to see.
We can do much to lower individual’s drug costs. We can prescribe lower cost alternatives. We should examine drug lists regularly and work to decrease the total number of prescriptions.
Canada is not our solution. Programs like the Consumer Union’s review of less expensive alternatives are an excellent alternative – Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs
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1 Response to Goldberg on Drug Importation
Solyom
December 28th, 2004 at 5:43 pm
Quickest and most efficient way to lower drug prices, encourage innovation and save lives would be to cripple the FDA. Clearing FDA hurdles costs not only an enormous amount but also serves as a barrier to entry for smaller, more innovative firms.