Drug Importation
Commentary
The Senate should reject foreign drug importation
Congress must send a budget to President Obama by next Friday. Senate lawmakers, hoping to avoid a government shutdown, have just started sparring over the details of their reconciliation measure. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has introduced an amendment to legalize the importation of certain prescription drugs from abroad. On the ...
Commentary
Drug importation is still a dangerous idea
Mike Huckabee thinks one of the worst health policy ideas “just makes sense.” The former Arkansas governor and current presidential hopeful just threw his weight behind drug importation. His proposal isn’t new. For two decades, Congress has considered drug importation almost every year. And for good reason, lawmakers have consistently ...
Commentary
Drug importation is a dangerous idea that won’t die
A federal judge just struck down a program in Maine allowing state residents to import prescription drugs from foreign countries. The reason: it’s against federal law — and justifiably so. The importation of price-controlled foreign drugs severely undermines research into future cures, hurting patients in the long run. And more ...
Commentary
Letting patients buy Canadian drugs will only import trouble
Good news for American patients — prescription drugs are effectively on sale. Drug spending climbed just 2.5 percent in 2013. Drug cost growth has now lagged overall health inflation for four straight years. Naturally, Washington lawmakers are ignoring the cost problems plaguing the rest of the healthcare marketplace and focusing ...
Commentary
Poison pill could be among drug imports
In recent testimony before Congress, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg reiterated the agency’s opposition to the importation of prescription drugs from foreign shores. “There are genuine safety concerns,” she explained. For years, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have supported legislation to legalize foreign drug importation. Yet ...
Commentary
The End of Medical Miracles?
Scientific discoveries are neither inevitable nor predictable Americans have, at best, a love-hate relationship with the life-sciences industry—the term for the sector of the economy that produces pharmaceuticals, biologics (like vaccines), and medical devices. These days, the mere mention of a pharmaceutical manufacturer seems to elicit gut-level hostility. Journalists, operating ...
Commentary
Blagojevich’s failed drug importation plan a cautionary tale
Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s recent media blitz took him across the television dial, from David Letterman to “The View,” but he maintained he had done nothing wrong. The Illinois Legislature begged to differ. In addition to the alleged attempted sale of Barack Obama’s Senate seat, lawmakers cited several other transgressions ...
Commentary
Don’t Fall Prey to Five Common Healthcare Myths
President-elect Barack Obama has promised to make healthcare reform a top priority. But in order to follow through, Obama and lawmakers on Capitol Hill must reject some longstanding misconceptions about health care in this country. Here are five such myths. Each is widely repeated, deeply held – and dead wrong. ...
Commentary
Hold the Fries, Avoid Dessert, and Skip the Counterfeit Xenical
Millions of Americans will look to weight-loss drugs to help them keep their New Year’s resolution to slim down. And if they can’t get a prescription from a doctor, many will go online to purchase the pills. But beware: Most of these websites are glossed-up fakes selling dangerous counterfeits. The ...
Commentary
Drug Importation is a ‘Reform’ We Can Do Without
Last month, both presidential candidates announced that they were reconsidering their long-standing support for the importation of prescription drugs from abroad. Their timing couldn’t have been better. Days later, Belgian authorities seized over two million counterfeit drugs on their way from India to Africa. This incident serves as a chilling ...
The Senate should reject foreign drug importation
Congress must send a budget to President Obama by next Friday. Senate lawmakers, hoping to avoid a government shutdown, have just started sparring over the details of their reconciliation measure. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has introduced an amendment to legalize the importation of certain prescription drugs from abroad. On the ...
Drug importation is still a dangerous idea
Mike Huckabee thinks one of the worst health policy ideas “just makes sense.” The former Arkansas governor and current presidential hopeful just threw his weight behind drug importation. His proposal isn’t new. For two decades, Congress has considered drug importation almost every year. And for good reason, lawmakers have consistently ...
Drug importation is a dangerous idea that won’t die
A federal judge just struck down a program in Maine allowing state residents to import prescription drugs from foreign countries. The reason: it’s against federal law — and justifiably so. The importation of price-controlled foreign drugs severely undermines research into future cures, hurting patients in the long run. And more ...
Letting patients buy Canadian drugs will only import trouble
Good news for American patients — prescription drugs are effectively on sale. Drug spending climbed just 2.5 percent in 2013. Drug cost growth has now lagged overall health inflation for four straight years. Naturally, Washington lawmakers are ignoring the cost problems plaguing the rest of the healthcare marketplace and focusing ...
Poison pill could be among drug imports
In recent testimony before Congress, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg reiterated the agency’s opposition to the importation of prescription drugs from foreign shores. “There are genuine safety concerns,” she explained. For years, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have supported legislation to legalize foreign drug importation. Yet ...
The End of Medical Miracles?
Scientific discoveries are neither inevitable nor predictable Americans have, at best, a love-hate relationship with the life-sciences industry—the term for the sector of the economy that produces pharmaceuticals, biologics (like vaccines), and medical devices. These days, the mere mention of a pharmaceutical manufacturer seems to elicit gut-level hostility. Journalists, operating ...
Blagojevich’s failed drug importation plan a cautionary tale
Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s recent media blitz took him across the television dial, from David Letterman to “The View,” but he maintained he had done nothing wrong. The Illinois Legislature begged to differ. In addition to the alleged attempted sale of Barack Obama’s Senate seat, lawmakers cited several other transgressions ...
Don’t Fall Prey to Five Common Healthcare Myths
President-elect Barack Obama has promised to make healthcare reform a top priority. But in order to follow through, Obama and lawmakers on Capitol Hill must reject some longstanding misconceptions about health care in this country. Here are five such myths. Each is widely repeated, deeply held – and dead wrong. ...
Hold the Fries, Avoid Dessert, and Skip the Counterfeit Xenical
Millions of Americans will look to weight-loss drugs to help them keep their New Year’s resolution to slim down. And if they can’t get a prescription from a doctor, many will go online to purchase the pills. But beware: Most of these websites are glossed-up fakes selling dangerous counterfeits. The ...
Drug Importation is a ‘Reform’ We Can Do Without
Last month, both presidential candidates announced that they were reconsidering their long-standing support for the importation of prescription drugs from abroad. Their timing couldn’t have been better. Days later, Belgian authorities seized over two million counterfeit drugs on their way from India to Africa. This incident serves as a chilling ...
