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Legalized Prescription Drug Imports 'Coming Soon'

Posted on: Wednesday, 5 May 2004, 06:00 CDT

By MARK SHERMAN

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A senior Bush administration official for the first time said Tuesday that legalizing prescription drug imports was inevitable and would save consumers money.

Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, whose agency has led the opposition to imported drugs, also said he would advise President Bush not to stand in the way of legislation to make it legal for drugs to be imported from abroad.

"I think it's coming," Thompson said at a news conference devoted mainly to the new Medicare discount drug cards. "I think Congress is going to pass it."

Asked whether legislation would help bring down drug prices in the United States, Thompson initially said the drug cards would reduce prices. But after he was pressed on the topic, he said drug imports also would help American consumers.

But he warned that such a move would be expensive because regulators, to ensure safety, would have to increase inspections of foreign pharmaceutical plants and packages of prescription drugs entering this country.

Several bills are pending in Congress to permit drug imports from Canada and elsewhere. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said earlier Tuesday that he does not know if the Senate will consider such a bill this year.

Until now, the administration and Republican congressional leaders have been united in their opposition to such legislation, saying there is no way to ensure safety. The pharmaceutical industry also has weighed in heavily against the idea.

"Two Secretaries of Health including Secretary Thompson have said importation cannot be done without compromising patient safety and public health. That's the current law of the land and we believe the right way to go to protect patients," said Wanda Moebius, spokeswoman for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

Proponents have argued that public frustration with rising drug prices and growing defiance of a federal ban on prescription imports would force action before the November elections.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a supporter of drug importation, called Thompson's comments "a significant signal to those of us who have been advocates."

Pawlenty, a Republican, was to testify Wednesday to a government panel that is studying whether and how prescription drugs could be safely imported. He said he would argue that pharmaceutical companies are choking off drug supplies to Canada as a way to stop drug imports.

"If we don't get some relief, the federal government is going to make a decision by default and it's going to be a decision against innovation and against the American consumer," he said in an interview.

Minnesota started the country's first state-run Web site that directs consumers to state-approved pharmacies in Canada that sell many drugs more cheaply.

Other states and cities facing budget crises also have turned to Canada to buy prescription drugs for workers or made it easier for residents to hook up with Canadian Internet pharmacies. Officials in Springfield, Mass., estimate that the city has saved $2 million since it started nine months ago buying prescription drugs from Canada for its city employees and retirees.

Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed in a recent AP poll said the government should make it easier to buy cheaper drugs from Canada or other countries.

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