In an interview upon his selection as TIME Magazine’s ‘Person of the Year,’ President-elect Donald
Trump said that his intent remains to “lower prescription drug costs” although
he admitted that he still hadn’t decided upon just how to do it.
The President-elect has also repeatedly expressed his
‘admiration’ for President Obama, admitting that he was surprised at the good,
even friendly, relationship that is emerging between them.
This is ironic since during the Campaign, Candidate-Trump
vowed to rescind every Executive Order issued by President Obama. Since then, President-Elect Trump has
softened his stance, saying he would only rescind those that he considered
‘illegal.’
Therein lies what may be the key to opening the door to allow
President-elect Trump to achieve his goal to lower prescription drug costs,
thanks to his new-found friendly relationship with President Obama.
And, in yet another twist in this strangest of Presidential
elections, he may actually offer President Obama a chance at establishing what
could be a part of the Obama legacy—a role in which both men can exhibit the
type of bi-partisanship that would reflect favorably upon them, all the while
offering millions of Americans price relief from the abusive pricing practices
of Pharma, i.e., a recognition of the rights of American patients to have
access to safe, affordable and authentic personally imported medicines.
The opportunity is actually created by an October 2016 letter
from 33 Democrat Congressmen to President Obama requesting him to use executive
action on a number of fronts to lower prescription drug costs, and to prevent
further outrageous unmerited price increases by Pharma.
It has become increasingly apparent that personal importation
of prescription medicines is the only readily available and most immediate
relief to Pharma pricing practices as evidenced by the Representatives’ request
to “… encourage your administration to explore implementing drug
importation rules that are already part of U.S. law. Under authority from the
Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003, the
Secretary of Health and Human Services can certify the importation of
prescription drugs from other countries under specific qualifications. This
regulatory action would pose no risk to public health and safety and could
result in a significant reduction in the cost of prescription drugs to American
families.”
It is significant that the letter
indicates the complete lack of adherence by both the Bush II and Obama
Administrations to the intent of Congress by allowing the Secretary of Health
and Human Services (HHS) to ignore the specific letter of the law.
That is why we urge the President
and the President-elect to take the actions necessary to compel the Secretary
to act , and to do so in a fair and partial manner that reflects that
personally imported authentic medicines at potential savings of up to 60 percent
are being denied to Americans, or for those who do engage in personal
importation of their medicines, their medicines are subject to potential
seizure and destruction only because of labeling differences that are required
by the countries of origin of the imported medicine. The seizures can take place irrespective of
the authenticity of the medicines.
By issuing the executive order
requested by the Congressional letter, President Obama will act on behalf of millions of Americans who
simply cannot afford their medicines. An
unaffordable medicine is unavailable in and of itself because of the price, and
a medicine that is not taken because it is unavailable is of no value.
For the President-elect, cite your
campaign pledge to support personal importation, let President Obama know of
your support of his issuance of an Executive Order to ensure that unelected
bureaucrats are subject to the clearly expressed intent of Congress, not the
whims of a particular industry segment, that there will be attempts to
set-aside such an Executive Order by your administration.
In 2008, then-Candidate Obama pledged to support the personal
importation of safe, affordable brand-name prescription medicines from
licensed-registered pharmacies in Tier One Countries whose standards of safety
and efficacy meet or exceed those of the U.S.
It seemed at the time that personal importation, which had
long been practiced by millions of Americans seeking the health benefits made
possible by access to their maintenance medicines was finally about to be a
part of a policy to lower prescription drug costs.
Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO), a long-time supporter of
Personal Importation, told me, after a hearing she was holding in St. Louis on
Medicare Advantage plan abuses, that
legislation allowing personal importation of medicines would be one of the
first pieces of legislation that the newly elected President Obama would sign,
and it would be on his desk within 48 hours of his inauguration.
That never happened.
Instead, President Obama Administration, faced with challenges
on a number of fronts, and acting in the belief that his legacy would be based
upon passage and implementation of a sweeping health care bill, engaged in secret, behind-closed-doors
meetings with the very forces of Pharma who agreed to not launch ‘Harry-Louise’
type of campaign that derailed ‘Hillarycare’, in return for shaping many
provisions of the law that were favorable to it.
For President-Elect Trump, cooperation and support of such an
Executive Order will illustrate that you are concerned about the health and
well-being of Americans, and that you recognize that lack of access to
affordable medicines is the wind that reaps the whirlwind of Pharma pricing
abuses, and consequences of costly, even possibly life-threatening health
conditions that could have been avoided.
The full Subtitle of the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement
and Modernization Act of 2003 follows:
Subtitle C: Importation of Prescription Drugs -
(Sec. 1121) Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations permitting
pharmacists and wholesalers to import prescription drugs from Canada into the
United States. Sets forth specified provisions respecting: (1) importer and
foreign seller recordkeeping and information requirements; (2) qualified
laboratory drug testing; (3) registration with the Secretary of Canadian
sellers; and (4) approved labeling.
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