Congress of California Seniors Says Canadian Drug Option Sets Standards of Safety, Quality, Pricing
Posted on: Tuesday, 12 July 2005, 15:01 CDT
SACRAMENTO, July 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Gary Passmore, spokesman for the Congress of California Seniors, the state's leading senior advocacy group, says suggestions in a recent news story that prescription drugs from licensed, registered Canadian pharmacies have diminished as an option to reduce drug prices for Californians and others in the U.S., reflects a lack of understanding of the changing dynamics of the issue.
"Even with two ballot initiatives before Californians November 8, access to safe, high-quality, low-cost prescription drugs from outside the U.S. -- including licensed, registered Canadian pharmacies -- is among the best options for seniors and underinsured Californians," Passmore says.
Drug companies have contributed about $40 million supporting an industry- sponsored 'voluntary drug discount plan' and to defeat a measure backed by seniors and consumer groups. Last week, Merck & Co. Inc. and Pfizer Inc. each donated $8.5 million.
Big international drug companies were instrumental in lobbying the Governor to veto two bills authorizing immediate access to lower-cost drugs from Canada. Governor Schwarzenegger is a major recipient of drug company donations.
"The drug makers want us to believe they will voluntarily lower prices...which they have refused to do in the past. They are spending millions to defeat a proposal to require discounts for seniors and working families with no insurance, pledging to spend 'whatever it takes' to block real cost savings," Passmore notes.
"Actually, millions of Americans, including Californians, have voted by turning to registered, licensed pharmacies from Canada for safety, lower prices and professional health care services," Passmore continued.
"These pharmacies have set a high standard for mail order and Internet- based pharmacies. The drug companies criticize these high quality operations while attempting to emulate them. Typically, they are relying not upon legitimate competition, which would lower drug, but on huge campaign contributions and attempts to make prescription drugs from Canada and other safe sources outside the U.S. appear irrelevant."
Passmore says the Congress of California Seniors, with its hundreds of thousands of members in California, is launching an expanded and innovative website jointly with a leading Canadian mail order pharmacy to extend the benefits of lower-cost, safe prescription drugs to an even larger audience.
"The important role of such pharmacies over the past five years will become increasingly evident to a growing number of seniors, the un- and the under-insured," he concludes.
Congress of California Seniors
CONTACT: Daniel Hines, +1-636-256-0047, for the Congress of CaliforniaSeniors
Source: PRNewswire
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