Bills would ease drug purchasing rules
OLYMPIA – House Democrats, hoping to give Washington consumers cheaper prescription drugs, voted on Friday to allow businesses, unions, local governments and average citizens to join the state’s bulk-purchasing program.
They also passed a bill aimed at easing access to lower-cost drugs from Canada.
Republicans railed against both proposals. The Democratic plans send out false hope that galloping drug costs will be curtailed and could actually prompt Ottawa to shut down the informal pipeline that Washington residents already use to get cheaper Canadian drugs, they said.
But majority Democrats persisted, passing both bills to the Senate for probable passage. Gov. Christine Gregoire has said she’ll sign the measures.
The House approved a companion bill earlier in the week, authorizing use of Canadian suppliers for state employees and clients. That bill also authorized a state-sponsored Internet site to link customers to Canadian pharmacies. The governor’s office has been running such a site without express authority.
Although Ottawa has talked about shutting off this pipeline to American customers, the neighbor to the north sells prescription medication – including many name brands manufactured in the United States – for half price or less. This is due to Canadian price controls and a favorable exchange rate.
The U.S. government has refused to give its assent to reimportation of drugs from Canada, citing potential safety concerns. Several states want the government to reverse that policy and to negotiate with Ottawa.
The bill that passed the House on Friday would direct the state Board of Pharmacy to ask the federal government for a waiver to allow the state to license Canadian drug wholesalers.
House Health Care Chairwoman Eileen Cody, D-Seattle, a nurse, said licensing the wholesalers would protect the quality of the drugs and that allowing the wholesalers to export the drugs to Washington would make prescriptions more affordable.
Rep. Shay Schual-Berke, D-Normandy Park, a heart surgeon, said the federal government provides waivers to the states all the time, and could have a change of heart on the Canada situation.
“Yes, it’s a message (to the Bush administration), but if people who are elected don’t send a message, who’s going to?” she said in an interview. “The message to both countries is ‘Open the gates.’ “
She said 700,000 Washington residents have no prescription drug coverage and must pay market price.
Some don’t take full doses or fill their prescriptions at all, and some are forced to choose between medicine and groceries, she said.
“We must leave no stone unturned” in the quest for affordable prescriptions, said Rep. Tami Green, D-Tacoma, choking back tears. “It is not OK for our citizens to be beggars.”
But Republicans said the Democrats were holding out false promises – and could even make the situation worse.
“Folks, this is false hopes,” said Rep. Bill Hinkle, R-Cle Elum. “Let’s get to real solutions. Let’s look at how we fix this health care crisis. The serious answers are here at home. Let’s look within our borders.”
Rep. Glenn Anderson, R-Fall City, said Democrats offer only “symbols and messages.”
Rep. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, said the legislation could have the unintended consequence of shutting down the pipeline that many Whatcom County residents enjoy.
“Thirty million Canadians are not going to become the drugstore for 300 million Americans,” and any price breaks will have to be negotiated between the two federal governments, not individual states, he said.
The bill passed 54-42.