June 9, 2004
Dear Senator:
The undersigned organizations have endorsed and previously written in support of
S. 2328, the Dorgan-Snowe bi-partisan pharmaceutical importation bill. We strongly concur with a majority of the House of Representatives in the hope that the Senate will vote on “a comprehensive prescription drug importation bill before the July 4 th recess.”
We are pleased that Senator Gregg, chair of the Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee, and others have also introduced importation legislation, S. 2493.
In reviewing the Dorgan-Snowe and Gregg bills, however, we find major gaps in S. 2493. We do not believe it will provide real help to individuals, insurers, or the Medicaid and Medicare programs. We urge Senators to support and sponsor the bipartisan S. 2328 because:
- Dorgan-Snowe permits safe importation from 19 countries one year after enactment; Chairman Gregg’s bill takes three years and depends on Food and Drug Administration certification that, if the past is repeated, will be very slow in coming. The only way to moderate drug inflation in the United States is to provide for safe competition from a larger market than the 32 million person Canadian market.
- Dorgan-Snowe contains provisions to keep the large drug manufacturers from boycotting or otherwise manipulating the Canadian and other markets. Without these anti-unfair trade provisions, the consumers will see no relief.
There are other differences between the two bills in various safety, record-keeping, and financing-fee provisions. We believe most of these remaining differences are relatively minor and can be resolved in Committee and on the Senate floor. For the sake of American consumers and the Medicare and Medicaid budgets, we urge you to co-sponsor and support S. 2328 and move the process forward as rapidly as possible.
Sincerely,
Alliance for Retired Americans
American Federation of Teachers
American Public Health Association
Association for Gerontology and Human Development
in Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Experience Works
Families USA
International Union, UAW
National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers
National Association of State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs
National Senior Citizens Law Center