I think that we have enough to worry about pharmaceutical companies in the United States, approved by the FDA, that have produced approved drugs and had to be removed from the market. No drugs are safe for everyone.

I saw a television commercial about a drug about four months ago that was frightful. “Side effects may include instant death”! I cannot recall the name of the drug but I have not seen the drug advertised since that first day it appeared on television (Fox). As I recall it was for asthma.



>I agree with you that Medicare should be able to negotiate the price of pharmaceutical drugs. I also agree that Canadian drugs should be available to U.S. citizens. I spend a couple of hundred a month on my mother's prescriptions because she is retired and on medicare. However, my point really is the slippery slope that is started when we go that route. There has to be some kind of research and verification that the country we are allowed to purchase prescription drugs from meets at least U.S. standards for oversight (I know there is no doubt about Canada but what if Canada relaxes its standards 5 years from now). If we allow from Canada then is China next? To ensure standards are met, that would mean another U.S. committee or oversight agency and then we have pay for another bloated agency that will probably really do nothing...
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>>Another side of the pharmaceutical question is that certain drugs are only available through United States pharmaceutical companies and Canada receives a reduced rate for them. In some cases the discount is greater than 50% compared to what we pay for the same drugs.
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>>Imagine if Medicare was allowed to negotiate the price of pharmaceutical drugs. That could reduce the cost for those who are retired and on a fixed income. There are those that thing such a thing is wrong. If you cannot afford medications your thoughts on this topic may be different.
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>>>It is BAD enough that we cannot ensure the safety of imported foods, but you want to allow that same leniency for prescription drugs as well? I would assume that Canada's pharmaceutical manufacturers are as strigent or more-so as the U.S. but how could that be guaranteed? After Canada, what country is next? Mexico or China? What about the next time you take sugar pills instead of your nitro glycerine? Hmmmmmm. Slippery slope to save $....
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>>>Now, a guarantee of oversight (Canadian guarantee of quality and efficacy of prescription drugs manufactured in Canada) would solve the problem entirely. When that happens...
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>>>>I am so glad that the administration is concerned with the health and safety of our citizens who must take prescription drugs. The president has vowed to veto a bill that would allow prescription drugs to be imported.
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>>>>Could it be that the competition of imported prescription drugs would cause a decrease in profits for pharmaceutical companies in the United States? Gee, that would be a catastrophe. Why if medications became more affordable that could upset a few important people in an important industry, along with a few politicians.
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>>>>Now if the administration would only do something about the imported foods that we eat to insure that they are safe.
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>>>>http://cbs5.com/national/topstories_story_127084203.html