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Friday, September 17, 2004
Drug costs dissected at health care symposium
Copyright © 2004 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. | ||
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Reducing prescription drug costs for older and uninsured Mainers is not as simple as looking north for relief, a group of speakers said at a health care symposium in Portland on Thursday. Reimporting Canadian drugs has become a hot-button issue as local, state and federal officials search for ways to combat rising health care costs. But federal officials and others say bypassing the United States' system puts people at risk of receiving improper dosages or possibly the wrong drugs altogether. "Reimporting of foreign drugs is not a solution," said Brian Cresta of the federal Department of Health and Human Services. "It's simply not enough to pick a company that appears to be legitimate and hope their product is safe," he said. But little was offered in the way of solutions at Thursday's symposium, which was entitled "Drug Reimportation: Unintended Consequences." Instead, participants cited the government regulations and economic forces that account for the wide price differential for drugs sold in Canada and the United States. State Senate Majority Leader Sharon Treat, D-Farmingdale, said MaineRx, the state's discount drug program, already is providing some help to people on fixed incomes. But she believes reimporting prescriptions can be done in a safe way and points to the city of Portland, which has joined several cities across the country in urging employees to purchase drugs through a Canadian outlet. "I didn't hear anything today that would make me less likely to tell my family members not to, in a careful, thoughtful way, get Canadian medications," she said. Although the Bush administration says importing drugs from Canada is unsafe, Democrats and some Republicans are looking to bring the issue before Congress. Cresta said Americans must be cautious because it can be difficult to differentiate between a known, regulated pharmacist and a Web site that boasts savings on drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration. He said the drug discount card, part of the Medicare Modernization Act signed by President Bush in December, is one way seniors can reduce health care costs. An estimated 41 million seniors and disabled people are eligible for the program. But critics of the Medicare law said the program has proved to be confusing to those eligible because of the number of discount cards available. The program's full drug benefit takes effect in 2006. Chris Ward, president of Ward Health Strategies, a Canadian health care consulting firm, said that the United States has a long way to go in reforming its health care system, and that it should not look to Canada for all the answers. He said one of the reasons health care costs appear lower in Canada is because the government negotiates prices with drug makers. Brian Lee Crowley, a consultant with the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies in Halifax, Nova Scotia, said forces such as price controls and standard of living also contribute to the differences. In the United States, he said, liability costs amount to a tax on drug manufacturers looking to ward off possible lawsuits. "The most effective method (of helping the sick) is to extend insurance coverage to those not insured," he said. Both Crowley and Ward said opening up the two countries to reimportation could lower drug company profits, reducing the amount spent on research and development. Claudia Fish, a songwriter with multiple sclerosis who lives in Dixmont, listened from the back of the room Thursday. Fish said she has thought about getting drugs from Canada, but worries about finding the right pharmacy. She wonders if other people have the luxury of moving cautiously. "It might depend on how desperate you are," she said.
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