2. Americans are paying the same amount for their prescription drugs as Canadians and the rest of the world.

• Americans now spend more than $200 billion a year on prescription drugs, and that figure is rising on average about 10 to 12 percent a year. (July 2, 2005 - Brattleboro Reformer)


• Americans pay the highest prescription-drug prices in the world, 30 to 300 percent higher than abroad. (July 6, 2005 - The Washington Times)


• Americans pay the highest prescription drug prices in the world, and US lawmakers are pushing to legalize the importation of wholesale prescription drugs as well as Internet purchases from Canada and other countries. Four bills are pending in Congress but have met with opposition from the pharmaceutical lobby and from the Food and Drug Administration. (July 3, 2005 - Rednova.com)


• Americans pay the highest prescription-drug prices in the world, 30 to 300 percent higher than abroad. (July 6, 2005 - The Washington Times)


• Americans pay the highest prescription drug prices in the world, and US lawmakers are pushing to legalize the importation of wholesale prescription drugs as well as Internet purchases from Canada and other countries. Four bills are pending in Congress but have met with opposition from the pharmaceutical lobby and from the Food and Drug Administration. (July 3, 2005 - Rednova.com)


• Springfield imported about $4.5 million in drugs in the 12 months ending in March, saving about $1.9 million, said Chris Collins, who helps oversee the program. (June 29, 2005 - Bloomberg)

• A study by the 11-member Massachusetts Group Insurance Commission, which runs the state employees' health insurance plan and is appointed by the governor, found in 2003 that importing drugs for state workers would save taxpayers $1.4 million a year after expenses. (June 29, 2005 - Bloomberg)


• The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, a Washington-based labour union, supports drug imports. (June 29, 2005 - Bloomberg)


• Montgomery County spends about $70 million a year on prescriptions for it's 85,000 employees and retirees. During the protracted drug importation debate last year, a council study estimated importation could save the county treasury between $6 million and $15 million a year. (June 29, 2005 - Gazette.net)


• Thousands of municipal workers and retirees across Massachusetts have followed the lead of Springfield, the state's third-largest city, and turned to Canada for cheaper prescription drugs in defiance of federal rules. (June 29, 2005 - Bloomberg)


• . The Congressional Budget Office estimated that a bill allowing prescription drug imports would reduce total prescription drug expenditures in the United States by about 1 percent or $40 billion, over a 10-year period. Federal spending would be reduced for Medicaid Part B by $2.9 billion over a 10-year period. The cost of prescription drugs for military personnel and veterans would be reduced by $400 million over a 10-year period. (Daily Southtown - May 27, 2005)


• Springfield, Massachusetts estimates it has save $4 million since it began offering the Canadian prescription plan to employees in 2003. (Boston Globe - May 22, 2005)


• Prescription drugs cost way too much in this country because Americans alone are footing the bill for research as well as advertising and handsome industry profits. Patients in Canada and other nations that have negotiated discounts with the drug makers are getting a bit of a free ride. (Baltimore Sun - December 26, 2004)


• The United States spends more on health care than any other country on earth - nearly 15 percent of its overall economy. That's nearly a half again as much as other countries and on a per capita basis, no one is even close. (Progressive Trail.org - November 12, 2004)


• The United States spends more on health care than any other country on earth - nearly 15 percent of its overall economy. That's nearly a half again as much as other countries and on a per capita basis, no one is even close. (Progressive Trail.org - November 12, 2004)


• Americans pay 108 percent more than the French and 118 percent more than Italians for the same drugs. (San Francisco Gate October 29, 2004)


• Americans on average paid 81 percent more for patented brand name drugs last year than buyers in Canada and six western European countries. That gap represents a significant increase from 2000, when the cost differential between the United States and the seven other countries was 60 percent. (San Francisco Gate - October 29, 2004)


• Given concerns about the safety of the existing drug supply within the United States, imported drugs may in fact be safer than drugs that have been distributed to Americans by major U.S. drug companies. (E-Mediawire - December 9, 2004)


• More than 20 percent of the top 200 brand name drugs sold in the United States are actually made in other countries. (Morning Call October 10, 2004)


• Canadian standards are no less than our own and clearly don't deserve to be lumped into the same category as Chinese pirated versions of movies and software.  (Lebanon Daily News – August 16, 2004)


• The FDA, in congressional hearings, has not been able to show a single case where a Canadian drug has damaged a U.S. citizen. (NBC Columbus August 11, 2004)


• According to a poll conducted by Opinion Research Corp., thirty–three per cent of Americans are planning to purchase their prescription drugs from Canadian pharmacies due to the double whammy of rising drug costs and shrinking health coverage south of the border. (The Medical Post – October 5, 2004)


• A report released by Kentucky State Auditor Crit Luallen estimates that Kentucky could save up to $107.6 million each year by re–importing drugs from Canada, where they are on average 40 percent cheaper than in the United States. (The News–Enterprise – October 5, 2004)


• In 2002, the price gap (between U.S. and Canadian drugs) is estimated to be about 67 percent. (Newsitem.com – October 1, 2004)


• Americans pay more for their drugs than residents of almost every developed country. (Des Moines Register – September 29, 2004)


• According to a poll conducted by Opinion Research Corp., thirty-three per cent of Americans are planning to purchase their prescription drugs from Canadian pharmacies due to the double whammy of rising drug costs and shrinking health coverage south of the border. (The Medical Post – October 5, 2004)


• A report released by Kentucky State Auditor Crit Luallen estimates that Kentucky could save up to $107.6 million each year by re-importing drugs from Canada, where they are on average 40 percent cheaper than in the United States. (The News-Enterprise October 5, 2004)


• In 2002, the price gap (between U.S. and Canadian drugs) is estimated to be about 67 percent. (Newsitem.com – October 1, 2004)


• In recent years, spending on prescription drugs has grown at an average annual rate of 14.5 percent. If it continues at this rate, spending on prescription drugs will nearly double in five years. Due to price controls in Canada and other countries, less expensive drugs are available across the northern border or overseas. (MSNBC September 22, 2004)


• Americans pay more for their drugs than residents of almost every developed country. (Des Moines Register - September 29, 2004)


• If Americans had paid Canadian prices for brand-name drugs in 2001, they would have saved $38 billion. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel August 9, 2004)


• Scott McKibbin, Illinois special advocate for prescription drugs, told the West Virginia Pharmaceutical Cost Management Council that Illinois could reduce the $340 million it spends annually on prescription drugs by as much as $91 million a year if it could import drugs from Canada, that state's drug czar said Wednesday. (The Charleston Gazette July 29, 2004)


• If West Virginia paid the same prices for prescription drugs as those in Australia, the Public Employees Insurance Agency in the state would save $13 million a year off its 10 most prescribed drugs alone. (E-Commerce Times July 29, 2004)


• Americans bought about $1 billion in pharmaceuticals from Canada last year, saving up to 70% over the cost of drugs in the United States, according to the Canadian International Pharmacy Association. (Detroit Free Press July 10, 2004)


• Pricing: for every dollar Americans spend on brand-name drugs, the Swiss pay 65 cents, Italians 49 cents and Canadians typically pay half of what Americans pay. (The Charleston Gazette July 15, 2004)


• Springfield, Mass., one of the first jurisdictions to adopt the practice of allowing public employees to import Canadian drugs estimates it has saved $2 million. (Baltimore Sun July 27, 2004)


• Last year, an estimated two million Americans purchased prescription drugs from Canada, whether they crossed the border in person or ordered their medications online, saving between 20-70% in the process, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (CBS July 27, 2004)


• The US is the most lucrative drug market in the world, accounting for about half the global industry's sales. The absence of price controls has allowed for a much higher mark-up on the manufacturing costs of drugs. (Independent Digital July 21, 2004)


• Researchers at the John Hopkins and Pennsylvania States Universities calculate that if Medicare patients could get the same discounts found on key drugs in Canada, France, and Great Britain, prices could be an average of 45 percent lower and total spending for drugs would be about $28 billion a year less, allowing complete coverage through the insurance program. Compared to the U.S. prices, the drugs were 52 percent lower in Canada, 59 percent lower in France and 47 percent lower in the United Kingdom. (Scripps Howard News Service July 21, 2004)


• Minnesota seniors are currently paying an average of 208% more for their prescription drugs than they would if they were permitted to purchase FDA-approved drugs form Canada. (U.S. Newswire August 16, 2004)


• America's seniors would have better access to medicines if US drug prices were slashed to the level paid in other industrialized nations. (TIME February, 2004)


• Americans comprise just 5 percent of the world's population, but account for 50 percent of the world's spending on drugs. (Globe and Mail November 17, 2004)


• Since 1992, annual spending on prescription drugs has nearly doubled to $192 billion. That's significantly higher than inflation, demonstrating how quickly prices are spiraling out of control. (Wakefield Observer August 19, 2004)


• The United States is the last industrialized country where drug manufacturers are allowed to set prices without government input. As a result, drug prices here in 2002 were a sickening 67% higher than in Canada. That's for the same drugs manufactured in the United States by major U.S. companies. (The Saratogian August 20, 2004)


• A group of California pharmacies filed suit on August 26, 2004 against several of the largest drug manufacturers claiming price gouging in the United States compared to prices elsewhere in the world. The complaint charges that U.S. retailers paid up 400 percent more for drugs than foreign firms. Those charged include; Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Abbott Laboratories, Wyeth, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Allergan, Hoffman-La Roche, Aventis, AstraZeneca, Novartis and Boehringer Ingelheim. (Reuters August 27, 2004)


• Medicine prices in the United Kingdom will be cut by 7 percent under a new five-year deal between the government and drug makers that will save more than 1.8 billion pounds on the nation's drug bill. (November 3, 2004 - Reuters)

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