Posted At The Oakland Press
Perhaps we're finally going to see some relief from high prescription costs. Then again, that just may be wishful thinking.
The reason for the optimism is that Michigan Democrats on Tuesday announced a plan that could save state residents up to 50 percent on some prescription drugs.
The key is reimporting drugs that are sold to Canada and other foreign countries at prices considerably lower than those in the United States. As pointed out Tuesday by state Rep. Marie Donigan of Royal Oak, a lead sponsor of the legislation that's expected to be formally introduced later this summer, drug costs are now putting needed prescriptions out of reach of many citizens.
Few could argue with that.
In 2003, Americans spent $216.4 billion on prescription drugs, up 11 percent from the previous year. According to a report by Families USA, in 2003 the cost of 30 brand-name drugs most frequently prescribed for the elderly rose 4.4 times the rate of inflation.
What the Democrats want is to have Michigan join Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Vermont and Kansas in the I-Save-Rx program. The program reimports about 150 popular brand-name drugs manufactured in the United States at savings of between 25 percent and 50 percent. Savings cited by Donigan were 39 percent on the antidepressant Zoloft; 64 percent on Allegra, an allergy medication; and 36 percent on the cholesterol drug Lipitor.
There's no cost to Michigan to join I-Save-Rx; individuals are charged a 1.5 percent fee per prescription to pay for safety and other administrative expenses. Participating pharmacies also contribute.
I-Save-Rx administrators apparently are conscious of safety concerns. The program is limited to prescription refills on drugs that treat chronic or long-term conditions. Generics, narcotics and drugs that could spoil during shipping are not covered. Participating pharmacies are inspected at least annually for safety and compliance.
Unfortunately for state Democrats and everyone reeling under the burden of prescription drug costs, the reimport proposal may not even get a fair hearing in Lansing.
No sooner had the proposal been made public than Republicans were finding fault with it.
A spokesperson for House Speaker Craig DeRoche of Novi said, "It's really opening up American consumers to a risk that they probably wouldn't be willing to take."
Republicans control both the state House and Senate. As a result, it's questionable whether the legislation will ever be voted out of committee and given a full, public hearing.
Whether it's Washington or Lansing, all too often our elected officials are more concerned with self-serving, partisan politics than they are with the welfare and concerns of their constituents. Tuesday's knee-jerk reaction by state Republicans is a good example.
Republicans owe Michigan residents an honest look at the Democratic proposal. If it's flawed, fine. But let's give it a fair hearing and see if something can be done on the state level to alleviate the growing problem of high prescription drug costs.
