bonoman
Refugee
I read the following editorial in the local Edmonton Sun, and i seen a program on medicines in Canada and US and how big of a price difference there is. In the program i read they had a woman that was taking $680US a month in pills if she bought them from Canada the cost would have been $320US. It is ridiculas that i dont hear enough about how horriblly screwed Americans get with medicines. Canada bases all prices on Europeon prices. We only are missing 4 drugs that the US has and only one of them are for killer diseases. Please read the article its very interesting:
In the U.S., the great land of free enterprise, Americans are taking that philosophy to heart by looking to Canada and other countries for affordable drugs.
American drug companies, which are happy to champion free enterprise when it means huge profits, are naturally unhappy when average citizens want the freedom to set their own economic priorities.
Research and development will suffer if Americans are permitted to import foreign drugs or if U.S. drug prices are regulated, the American pharmaceutical firms grumble.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has even joined the scaremongering, suggesting that allowing people to import medications would risk public safety.
I don't know about other countries but Canadian drugs are as safe as or safer than U.S. pharmaceuticals.
There are countless Americans who have become sicker - or perhaps even died - because they couldn't afford to buy drugs in the U.S. I haven't heard of any Americans complaining that Canadian medicine made them worse off.
Canadian pharmaceuticals unsafe? That's a laugh. In some cases, notes John Bachynsky, professor emeritus in the University of Alberta's faculty of pharmacy, Americans who buy Canadian drugs get better care here than they would at home.
As for the notion that the development of new U.S. drugs would suffer a setback if drug prices were lower, perhaps the American pharmaceutical industry could dip into its enormous advertising budget if it's feeling squeezed financially.
New drugs are a godsend, to be sure. Without the pharmaceutical companies, people would spend much more time in hospital, driving up health costs even more. People are living longer and healthier lives because research scientists spend years developing better medicines.
No one is suggesting drug companies shouldn't be profitable. But ordinary Americans - and an increasing number of politicians - are clamouring for some fairness.
Hordes of U.S. seniors are voting with their feet, boarding buses for Canada to buy drugs that are too expensive at home. Many more order their meds online.
Forget the war in Iraq for a minute. This is an issue that's giving American politicians a major headache.
Several states are lobbying for permission to import Canadian drugs for their employees and retirees.
Last week, the Illinois governor said the state could save almost $100 million a year by buying prescription drugs from Canada.
"It's time the FDA stops protecting the big drug companies. It's time they start helping people," said Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
Then there are the estimated 40 million Americans who have no prescription drug coverage at all. The drug manufacturers give discounts to insurance companies that cover millions of Americans.
But the uninsured are stuck paying the full price, notes Steve Morgan, an associate professor at University of British Columbia's Centre for Health Services and Policy Research.
The uproar over lower-priced Canadian drugs is a red herring, he says, because Canadian prices are based on European benchmarks.
"What (U.S. critics) are suggesting is all countries should abandon their regulatory policies," says Morgan.
Yet no one is saying HMOs (U.S. medicare plans) shouldn't give discounts, he adds.
"The real story," he says, "is an unfortunate consequence of the way Americans price their own market.
"It's grandmas that have to pay these high prices ... because insurance companies are getting a break."
Canada might be exporting $1 billion of drugs to the U.S. - less than 1% of the American pharmaceutical market, Morgan notes. That's hardly a threat to the U.S. drug industry. And the U.S. is so far behind the times it is only now considering providing prescription drug coverage for seniors on medicare.
No wonder Americans are going on drug-shopping sprees to Canada
In the U.S., the great land of free enterprise, Americans are taking that philosophy to heart by looking to Canada and other countries for affordable drugs.
American drug companies, which are happy to champion free enterprise when it means huge profits, are naturally unhappy when average citizens want the freedom to set their own economic priorities.
Research and development will suffer if Americans are permitted to import foreign drugs or if U.S. drug prices are regulated, the American pharmaceutical firms grumble.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has even joined the scaremongering, suggesting that allowing people to import medications would risk public safety.
I don't know about other countries but Canadian drugs are as safe as or safer than U.S. pharmaceuticals.
There are countless Americans who have become sicker - or perhaps even died - because they couldn't afford to buy drugs in the U.S. I haven't heard of any Americans complaining that Canadian medicine made them worse off.
Canadian pharmaceuticals unsafe? That's a laugh. In some cases, notes John Bachynsky, professor emeritus in the University of Alberta's faculty of pharmacy, Americans who buy Canadian drugs get better care here than they would at home.
As for the notion that the development of new U.S. drugs would suffer a setback if drug prices were lower, perhaps the American pharmaceutical industry could dip into its enormous advertising budget if it's feeling squeezed financially.
New drugs are a godsend, to be sure. Without the pharmaceutical companies, people would spend much more time in hospital, driving up health costs even more. People are living longer and healthier lives because research scientists spend years developing better medicines.
No one is suggesting drug companies shouldn't be profitable. But ordinary Americans - and an increasing number of politicians - are clamouring for some fairness.
Hordes of U.S. seniors are voting with their feet, boarding buses for Canada to buy drugs that are too expensive at home. Many more order their meds online.
Forget the war in Iraq for a minute. This is an issue that's giving American politicians a major headache.
Several states are lobbying for permission to import Canadian drugs for their employees and retirees.
Last week, the Illinois governor said the state could save almost $100 million a year by buying prescription drugs from Canada.
"It's time the FDA stops protecting the big drug companies. It's time they start helping people," said Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
Then there are the estimated 40 million Americans who have no prescription drug coverage at all. The drug manufacturers give discounts to insurance companies that cover millions of Americans.
But the uninsured are stuck paying the full price, notes Steve Morgan, an associate professor at University of British Columbia's Centre for Health Services and Policy Research.
The uproar over lower-priced Canadian drugs is a red herring, he says, because Canadian prices are based on European benchmarks.
"What (U.S. critics) are suggesting is all countries should abandon their regulatory policies," says Morgan.
Yet no one is saying HMOs (U.S. medicare plans) shouldn't give discounts, he adds.
"The real story," he says, "is an unfortunate consequence of the way Americans price their own market.
"It's grandmas that have to pay these high prices ... because insurance companies are getting a break."
Canada might be exporting $1 billion of drugs to the U.S. - less than 1% of the American pharmaceutical market, Morgan notes. That's hardly a threat to the U.S. drug industry. And the U.S. is so far behind the times it is only now considering providing prescription drug coverage for seniors on medicare.
No wonder Americans are going on drug-shopping sprees to Canada
