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US considers allowing across-the-border prescription drug purchases WASHINGTON (July 11, 2000 12:40 a.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) - Faced with a growing public resentment of high prescription drug prices, the House [U.S. House of Representatives] Monday debated whether to prevent the government from discouraging the purchase of drugs in Canada or other countries. An increasing number of Americans have been going to Canada, Mexico and other countries to purchase prescription drugs cheaper than what they cost in the United States. Technically it's illegal to import prescription drugs, and the Food and Drug Administration sometimes has sent warning letters to people caught doing it. The House considered late Monday whether to put an amendment onto an FDA appropriations bill that would prevent the agency from enforcing the law or mailing such warning letters. "People's lives are being shortened today because of the abnormally high and ridiculously increased price of prescriptions," said Rep. Tom Coburn, R-Okla. Because of cost controls, drugs can cost several times less in Canada, Mexico and Europe than in the United States, leading some Americans to buy their pharmaceuticals by mail order or else join bus trips across the border to fill their prescriptions. For example, Prilosec, a popular ulcer medication, cost $400 for 100 capsules in New York but $184 in Canada and $107 in Mexico, said Rep. Joseph Crowley, D-N.Y. "Prescription drugs and medicines are not a luxury, they are a necessity," added Crowley. High drug prices have emerged as a significant issue in this year's political campaigns. Polling indicates the issue of prescription drugs is a priority for Americans 65 and older, a group that accounted for more than one-quarter of voters in the 1998 elections and is regarded as a key swing group in the fall campaign. Republicans pushed a bill through the House last month that would use private insurance and federal subsidies to cover some of the cost of prescription drugs for senior citizens. President Clinton has threatened to veto the legislation. He and congressional Democrats are advocating a more encompassing but also costlier alternative: a uniform, government-run prescription drug benefit, offered to all 39 million elderly and disabled Medicare beneficiaries. FDA spokesman Lawrence Bachorik said the agency is concerned that the House legislation could undermine its "ability to protect consumers and patients from substandard, poorly manufactured or otherwise risky drugs." "The FDA stands ready to work with Congress on these issues," he added. By PHILIP BRASHER, Associated Press Copyright 2000 Nando Media http://www.nandotimes.com/noframes/story/0,2107,500226619-500326092-501849677-0,00.html janet paterson 53 now / 41 dx / 37 onset 613 256 8340 / PO Box 171 Almonte Ontario K0A 1A0 Canada visit my website "a new voice" at: "http://www.geocities.com/janet313/"