|
|
Politicians, Elderly Unite in Push for
Prescription Drug Reimportation
By Kate Kompass, St Cloud Times
June 10, 2004
Times photo by Jason Wachter
Melvin Pintok takes two prescription medications he orders from Canada. The St. Cloud man started ordering drugs from Canada for himself and his wife after he was linked to Canadian pharmacies through a senior-advocacy group.
Recent signs show political support may be building for reimportation of prescription drugs.
Melvin Pintok says senior citizens such as himself have little choice but to look north for prescription drugs.
If Pintok and his wife bought locally, they would pay about $1,500 every month. They pay a Canadian pharmacy $840.
For about a year, Pintok, 74, and his wife have ordered two drugs for him and three for her from Canada. The St. Cloud couple found their Canada connection through a senior-citizen advocacy group.
"It's gotten to be a real situation where we're trapped," he said.
Federal officials have said drugs ordered from Canada or any other foreign country may be unsafe, unregulated and could be counterfeit.
But recent signs show political support for reimportation may be growing, even though it's still considered illegal by the federal government. Reimportation involves shipping drugs often made in the United States from a foreign country back to U.S. users.
"I do think the political winds are changing on this issue," said Kevin Goodno, state human services commissioner. He added: "The comments from the FDA seemed to have toned down considerably in the last couple of months. ... There is a willingness to work together on this. The question is, will we be able to find a common agreement?"
Those signs of political change include:
- More city- and state-sponsored Web sites link senior citizens and others to Canadian pharmacies. Minnesota, Wisconsin and New Hampshire created sites. Boston is expected to become the biggest U.S. city to start a program this summer.
- While the Food and Drug Administration sent critical letters to Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty about his state-sponsored Web sites, it has not tried to shut down the sites, and its associate commissioner for policy says any legal action against Minnesota is a ways off.
- Even those who have criticized reimportation are changing their minds. They
include U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., who earlier this month introduced legislation that paves the way for reimportation of prescription drugs. U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson also said last month that reimportation is inevitable. An HHS committee is studying reimportation to see the safest way it can be done.
Web connection
Pawlenty has been aggressive on reimportation. His administration has set up two Web sites for Minnesotans to get information about prescription-drug costs in Canada. One, www.MinnesotaRxConnect.com, is intended for all residents, and the other, www.advantage-meds.com, is for state employees exclusively.
Since the residents' Web site was launched in January, more than 95,000 visits have been logged, state Department of Human Services spokeswoman Jane Kennedy said.
Canadian drugs aren't the answer for all patients worried about high drug costs. State officials and pharmacists point out the real savings on Canadian drugs are in brand-name drugs, not generics.
Catherine Claude, a Rice resident, was thrilled when she heard about Pawlenty's plan to get state employees drugs from Canada, because her teen-age daughter has Crohn's disease and has to take 14 medications.
But when Claude, who works at a St. Cloud driver's exam office, logged on to the Web site, she saw that only one of her daughter's medications is available through Canada. She may not order the drug.
"I kind of like that there are options out there, but I don't think we should be running to other countries," Claude said. "I think we should solve the problem here."
'Bold' Minnesota
Kay Wolsborn, political science professor at the College of St. Benedict/St. John's University, said she was, at first, surprised at Pawlenty's attitude about reimportation, because he is a conservative Republican. Championing reimportation could be risky for a man talked about as a potential player on the national political scene.
"He may have done that because it's a way of putting pressure on the drug companies. ... When I reflected on it further, I thought 'OK, that will make sense,' " Wolsborn said.
Art Ruzanic, a pharmacist for HealthPartners Central Minnesota Clinics, thinks reimportation might cause problems, but he acknowledged Pawlenty's actions are "a bold move politically."
FDA Associate Commissioner for Policy William Hubbard said even though the federal government disagrees with what Pawlenty has done, "We've tried to keep the debate an amicable discussion about policy issues."
Hubbard said he met with Pawlenty once, when the governor visited Washington.
"I think he understood our concerns and gave us a good sense of his," he said.
"They are under great pressure to lower drug costs. ... We hear the same complaints from people about not being able to afford drugs."
Both the FDA and Pawlenty have valid concerns, Hubbard said.
"We like to think we're both trying to be good guys here, and good guys shouldn't be fighting good guys," he said.
The FDA has no control over the costs of prescription drugs but is responsible for guaranteeing their safety, Hubbard said. Because the FDA has no oversight over Canadian pharmacies, government officials can't vouch for their drugs, he said.
"It is possible at some point we will have to get a referee for this in the form of a federal judge," Hubbard said.
If and when that happens, the law will be on the government's side, Hubbard said. Past legal battles have set that precedent, he said.
"We believe the legal issues are not hard here," Hubbard said. "These are clearly illegal drugs."
Pharmacists peeved
FDA officials aren't the only Pawlenty critics. The state's actions have upset many pharmacists, especially ones from rural areas.
Minnesota pharmacists fired back last month when they launched their own Web site, www.MYRxMinnesota.com, which compares local drug prices to those sold in Canada.
Local pharmacists say there are more problems with reimportation than safety, including the possible breakdown of the relationship between patient and pharmacist, the economic effects on local pharmacists and the logistics of reimporting a large amount of drugs from Canada.
With the millions of people in this country who need help with prescription-drug costs, it is hard to believe Canadian pharmacies could provide for all of them, Ruzanic said.
Government officials need to decide soon on reimportation because of the growing climate of support for it, Julie Johnson of the Minnesota Pharmacists Association said.
"It's not that we are against importation < we are for a safe system for patients and consumers to be able to access quality, safe drugs at reasonable prices," Johnson said.
On the Net
. www.MinnesotaRXconnect.com: The state-established Web site that is intended for all Minnesota residents.
. www.advantage-meds.com: The state-established Web site that is intended for state employees.
. www.myrxminnesota.com: The Web site established by Minnesota pharmacists and retailers to compare prices in the state and abroad.
. www.fda.gov: The Food and Drug Administration's Web site.
|
|
