Canada Scheming

A pharmaceutical industry spokesman is right that a plan announced earlier this week by the Penobscot Nation, Maine Council of Senior Citizens and Maine ALF-CIO to set up a system to import prescription drugs from Canada and resell them to the state’s pharmacies is a “bizarre scheme.” What the PhRMA representative is not right about, however, is that such plans are an unnecessary distraction.

The drug industry has fought so hard against changes to the country’s obviously broken prescription drug pricing system that cities, states and tribes have been forced to turn to what may sound like bizarre schemes to rein in the rising costs of drugs. That the city of Springfield, Mass., the state of Illinois and the Penobscot Nation are considering buying drugs from Canada because the same drugs are much cheaper there is clear evidence that the current system, in which American consumers pay the highest prices for prescription drugs of any Western country, is in dire need of reform. Rather than attacking such “schemes,” the industry should encourage lawmakers to devote their energy to developing a meaningful, comprehensive plan to lower the cost of prescription medications for all Americans.

Instead, when a state such as Maine tries to ease this burden by having prices reflect what would be considered normal in many countries, as it did with Maine Rx, the drug lobby immediately calls in its lawyers and sues. And, year after year, it persuades Congress that it is necessary for Americans to subsidize the world’s prescription drug use or risk losing essential research, an argument made silly by the industry’s lavish budgets for doctor freebies, artsy commercials and enormous dividends.

Given industry opposition to rational changes in American drug pricing and policy it is no wonder people have come up with inventive ways to get the drugs they need at lower costs, increasingly through Canada, where government price controls keep costs down. So, now, the Penobscot Nation has realized it can capitalize on this situation while also helping Maine residents get cheaper drugs. The tribe has a need for revenue and an empty building where it plans to warehouse drugs from Canada that it will sell at prices lower than current American rates after taking a cut to cover transportation and handling costs.

The plan has been endorsed by the state’s congressional delegation but has many hurdles to clear. The first step is to apply for a one-year $200,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to determine if the plan is feasible. The grant money would come from the same federal government that says importing drugs is illegal and unsafe.

Although he’d like to see the drug importation business take off for his tribe, Penobscot Gov. Barry Dana acknowledged that his people and the people of Maine would be better off if lower-cost drugs were available here in America. In other words, the bizarre scheme wouldn’t be necessary if the pharmaceutical industry stopped standing in the way of real and legitimate efforts to reduce the costs of prescription medication to the prices paid almost everywhere else.