Senate rejects mass importation of medicine from Canada

In the midst of President Obama's push for health care reform, the Senate rejected a plan to allow American pharmacies and drug wholesalers to import federally approved drugs from abroad. That vote has proved to be a headache for customer service staff at companies like Canadameds.com (http://www.Canadameds.com), which sells low-cost prescription drugs directly to American consumers.

"Our call center has received many calls from Canadameds.com customers," said call center manager Richmon Sagun. "Consumers are afraid the Senate vote means they will no longer be able to order from Canadameds.com. Callers have been worried that this vote has put Canadameds out of business but that, of course, is not the case. The vote only prohibits mass importation - wholesale orders - not personal importation. So it's business as usual for us."

Prescription drug prices have more than doubled in the last five years, and in the U.S., where drugs cost more than anywhere else in the world, more than one-third of senior citizens have inadequate prescription drug coverage. Consequently, Sagun explained, U.S. seniors flock to companies like Canadameds.com. "Our Canada pharmacy is here to help. We fill every online prescription submitted to our Canadian pharmacy completely and at a fair price," stated Sagun. "We even go beyond the borders of Canada to obtain the best-quality prescription drugs for our patients. Customers save up to 70 percent on Canadian and global affiliate drugs, with the assurance that we meet - and often surpass - U.S. safety standards."

For example, a Canadameds.com search for Celebrex shows both name-brand and generic options and provides the cost comparison of the drug sourced from four different countries. A prescription of 100 x 200-mg capsules of brand-name Celebrex from Canada costs 60 percent less than the same prescription from the U.S. The generic equivalent from India offers even greater savings at 76 percent less per capsule than the U.S. brand-name offering.

Canadameds.com is committed to patients' rights to access safe, affordable, prescription drugs. Its efforts include lobbying to support the "Preserving Access to Safe, Affordable Canadian Medicines Act of 2003," a House bill designed to help ensure that Canadian prescription medications are available to seniors.