Most pharmaceutical companies are reluctant to either slice its profits or be told what to change for its products. They cite many factors such as getting the product tested and approved, which can take years, as reasons for charging more. Without this activity, its pursuit of better medications would stop, drug companies argued (Meier 1). Past reimportation bills lost because senators were not convinced that drugs coming into the U. S. are safe. In 2003, more than half of the U. S.
Senators opposed such a bill for that reason (1). Senators believed having U. S. Health and Human Services Department (HHS) support the bill might have helped it pass. Some stores would have refused to sell any imported drugs. A member of Berger 3 the National Association of Chain Stores said they would not have allowed any drugs shipped from someplace else to be sold in their stores unless it was deemed safe by the government first (2). Verdict Prescription drug prices will continue to be more expensive (www. time. com).
As staying healthy becomes more costly and American consumers searching for cheaper answers, there are good reasons to support importing prescription drugs from Canada and any other country that is deemed safe by U. S. standards. The government can demand regulations be followed. They can also set new guidelines to guarantee all medications coming into this country are both safe and inexpensive. This way, consumers get the access to health care they need; pharmaceutical companies can continue researching for better solutions, and the government can rest assured the products are safe.
Works Cited
“Candidate Profile: Hillary Clinton” and “Candidate Profile: Barack Obama. ” Information found on the WebMD website (www. webmd. com/election2008). Elliott, Phillip. “McCain Calls for Drug Reimportation” Associated Press, November 17, 2007. Published in TIME Magazine and on its website: www. time. com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1685197,00. htm). Meier, Conrad F. “Drug Reimportation Bill Called ‘Risky. ’” The Heartland Institute. September 2003. Also published in Health Care News and on its website: www.
heartland. org. Monali, Bhosle J. , and Rajesh, Balkrishnan. “Drug Reimportation Practices in the United States,” Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management. March 3, 2007. Dove Medical Press Limited. Published online March 2007. Information found on the Pub Med web site. http://www. pubmedcentral. nih. gov/articlerender. fcgi? artid=1936287. “Prescription Drug Reimportation: A Short Term Effort to Reduce Drug Prices. ” American Medical Student Association. www. amsa. org.