Canada's cheap drugs

Americans are footing the bill for the rest of the world's prescription drugs, as shown in an Associated Press price check released last week.

The comparison was with Canada, a neighboring country where it's easy to find the same medications available in the United States. And the lower costs in Canada cause many Americans to look north to save money.

A three-month supply of Lipitor, a cholesterol controller that's also the world's best-selling prescription drug, was 37 percent cheaper in Canada. Anti-depressant Paxil cost about half as much as in the United States. Vioxx, which treats arthritis, cost 58 percent less. Risperdal, an anti-psychotic, was 80 percent cheaper in Canada.

No wonder Web sites are popping up to help Americans find their prescriptions for less across the border, making the site operators a handy profit in the process. At CanadaRx.com, the home page openly states: "We are here to provide American citizens with an alternative to high prescription medication prices in the United States."

And thanks to those sites, what residents of border towns have known for years is becoming an option across the country.

U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson of Cape Girardeau is trying to make the process easier for her Southeast Missouri constituents. She held out for a drug re-importation measure into the House version of a Medicare prescription drug bill, which is in conference committee awaiting conference revisions.

In a season when many elderly will have to choose between heating their homes and picking up their prescriptions, this nation needs more legislators like Emerson. Indeed, the re-importation measure has picked up considerable support in the full House and Senate. It would allow American pharmacies to buy back drugs from Canada at lower rates and pass the savings on to customers.

But the fight isn't over, thanks to high-priced lobbyists working for prescription drug companies. The Bush administration and influential Democrats and Republicans, plus the Food and Drug Administration, oppose the plan based on safety grounds. One argument is that Canada could be getting the drugs from anywhere, including Third World countries or nations hostile to Americans. Without the federal government controlling the drugs, opponents say, safety would be compromised.

Of course, the chance of that risk means little to an elderly person paying upwards of $200 for his Vioxx prescription while wondering how he'll afford groceries too.

Emerson's plan is the one the federal government should be promoting. Safety issues can be addressed in her legislation. Let the rest of the world pay its fair share for medications.