Dorgan, McCain, Snowe introduce bill to allow prescription drug reimportation

Sens. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) on Wednesday introduced a bill (S 525) that would allow the reimportation of lower-cost prescription drugs from other nations, Bloomberg reports.

The lawmakers said that the legislation would save the U.S. $50 billion, which includes $10 billion in savings for the U.S. government, over the next 10 years. According to a statement from the lawmakers, the legislation would "bring consumers immediate relief and will ultimately force the pharmaceutical industry to lower drug prices in the U.S." Julia Wanzco, a spokesperson for Snowe, said, "We do expect this to pass" in part because President Obama in his fiscal year 2010 budget proposal announced a "strong interest in implementing this policy."

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America opposes the legislation because of safety concerns. In a statement, Ken Johnson, senior vice president at PhRMA, said, "The worldwide counterfeit threat is knocking at America's door and will soon be greeted if prescription drug importation moves forward," adding, "Interest in prescription drug importation is waning in part due to the millions of seniors accessing medicines and saving money through the Medicare prescription drug program and consumer weariness in the aftermath of recalled tainted foreign products" (Randall, Bloomberg, 3/4).