During the year 2000, exorbitant prescription drug prices in the United States became a hot topic. Many politicians spoke out about the need for Medicare reform. Drug companies tried to fend off legislation which would impose price controls. People without medical insurance or prescription drug benefits grew more and more fearful of not being able to afford needed medications.
Unlike other countries, the United States does not have price controls on drugs. According to a Congressional Research Service study, seniors in Vermont pay an average of 81% more than Canadians for the 10 most commonly used prescription drugs. As reports surfaced this year about the significant savings available on prescription drugs in Canada and Mexico, more people than ever before headed for the border. Actually, Americans have been crossing the border to buy their prescription drugs for many years, but the soaring cost of drugs in the U.S. stirred new interest in border bargains.
Some people made the trek themselves. Others crossed into Mexico on sold-out bus trips from nearby states like Arizona and Southern California. To the north, a similar scenario occurred in Canada. A prescription signed by a Canadian doctor is required in Canada, but some pharmacies are said to look the other way.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not prohibit individuals from bringing drugs into the United States, but limits it to a three-month supply of prescription drugs for personal use only, not to be re-sold. Drug manufacturers, however, frown on people crossing the border to buy drugs, citing possible counterfeit medications and the lack of instruction from medical professionals as serious problems. Drug manufacturers defend higher prices in the U.S. by pointing to the high cost of research which is necessary to develop and produce new drugs.
Attempts by Congress and some states to set price controls on prescription drugs have been fought by drugmakers. In May, the state of Maine passed a law which created a commission to negotiate drug prices for its uninsured residents and impose price controls in 2003 unless drugmakers lower costs. In Vermont, a similar bill was proposed but was defeated following a strong lobby against it by the drugmakers. Congressman Bernie Sanders and Senator Jim Jeffords, both from Vermont, have also worked on legislation which would allow American distributors and pharmacists to re-import FDA approved prescription drugs into the U.S. from Mexico and Canada at the low prices offered in those countries.
As drugmakers fight back against re-importation and price controls, and as the U.S. government seems far from consensus about a solution to soaring drug prices, people are doing whatever it takes to obtain the medications they need. Some people reportedly have been forced to choose between food and their prescription medications, while others have cut their dosage in half to extend their medications. Comparison shopping and online pharmacies have provided significant savings in some cases. Yet for many people, making the trip to the border has been the remedy.
In April 2000, my family went on a cruise which made a stop in Ensenada, Mexico. We took this opportunity to check prices of the drugs we take at a Mexican pharmacy. With the expectation that the prices would be dramatically lower than what we normally pay in the U.S., we were surprised to find that was not the case. The Mexican pharmacy we checked was considered within a tourist area since it was so close to where the ship docked. We were told that prices were likely to be lower in the local pharmacies closer to downtown. We also were told that brand name drugs, not generic, would offer the most savings as well as drugs which recently became available.
REFERENCES:
How Far Would You Go For Cheaper Drugs?, WebMD, 7/14/00
Medical Road To Mexico, ABCNEWS.com, 5/10/00
Run For The Border, ABCNEWS.com, 10/7/99[/br]
