For the past decade, I’ve written extensively about my view that pharma-funded organizations and initiatives are responsible for misleading Americans about the safety of buying more affordable prescription drugs over the Internet for import from Canada and other countries. Most of that writing was on PharmacyCheckerBlog – but periodically it shows up in national media, […]
Author: Gabriel Levitt
Founder of Prescription Justice, the Prescription Justice Institute, and an advisor to PharmacyChecker.
Fewer New Drugs but Affordable Access for Existing Ones: The Big Elephant in the Room
Would you vote for legislation to lower drug prices that would lead to a five percent reduction in pharmaceutical innovation — yet simultaneously create a health system in which all Americans could afford the prescription drugs they need? That’s compared to the one we have now where a quarter of Americans struggle with drug prices. […]
Becerra’s Vote for Drug Importation in 2003
Yesterday, former California Attorney General Xavier Becerra was narrowly confirmed (50-49) by the U.S. Senate to become Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Congratulations! Before he was AG, he was Congressman Becerra. And as Kaiser Health News reminded us in January, Rep. Becerra (D-CA) voted for the “Canadian drug importation law” in […]
Return of the MEDS Act? Colorado Seeks Drug Imports Beyond Canada
This past week, to lower drug costs, a bill was introduced in the Colorado legislature – SENATE BILL 21-123 – to allow drug imports from countries other than Canada. Colorado, which passed a law in 2019 allowing drug importation from Canada, apparently wants access to even lower cost drugs than Canada can offer. It’s also a way to address the real obstacle that Canada’s population is only 11% the size of the U.S. population and excess drugs supplies are limited. State of Reform does a nice job covering this bill, but this post gives some underlying and important history.