Press Release

Prescription Justice Coalition Sends Letter to Congress in Support of Safe Drug Importation

    Posted: 08 Jun 2017

 

Yesterday, in a letter to all members of Congress, non-profit organizations representing millions of Americans and their families stated their strong support for the Affordable and Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act of 2017. This critical legislation would expand access to lower-cost medications from Canada and other countries.

 

Spearheaded by Prescription Justice, the letter recognizes that millions of Americans already import medication for personal use and urges Congress to make it lawful for them to do so in accordance with federal regulations and the safest international pharmacy practices.

 

The letter states: “Preventing Americans from buying affordable medication is clearly the wrong thing to do, which is why individuals are not prosecuted for small personal use quantity imports. By passing this bill, Congress would require the FDA to provide guidance to consumers about finding safe international online pharmacies. This provision would help consumers find the safest options, while going after bad actors who intentionally sell counterfeit and adulterated medications.”

 

The public health crisis of high drug prices is causing epidemic rates of prescription non-adherence. Approximately 45 million Americans did not fill a prescription in 2016 due to cost, which leads to unnecessary sickness, hospitalizations and death.

 

According to a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation, about 19 million Americans say they have imported medication for personal use due to the high cost of medication domestically; and 72% of Americans would like importation from Canada to be legal. Canadian pharmacies offer discounts of 70% on average compared to local pharmacies on popular brand name drugs, which are available online.

 

View the letter in support of prescription drug importation to the U.S. House of Representatives, here.

 

View the letter in support of prescription drug importation to the U.S. Senate, here.

 

Myths and Facts about importation:
https://prescriptionjustice.org/Prescription_Justice_-_Myths_vs_Facts_About_Importation.pdf.

 

Below is a list of the signatory organizations.

 

Alliance for Retired Americans

 

Center for Medicare Advocacy

 

CREDO

 

DailyKos

 

Economic Policy Institute Policy Center

 

Justice in Aging

 

National Nurses United

 

National Organization for Women

 

Prescription Justice

 

RxRights

 

Social Security Works

 

Prescription Justice is a non-profit organization that brings together doctors, lawyers, public health advocates, and companies dedicated to helping people afford medication. Prescription Justice advocates for legislative and policy reforms to allow personal prescription importation, permitting Medicare to negotiate drug prices, and ending “pay to delay” activities by pharmaceutical companies that prevent lower-cost generics from coming to market.

 

Contact: Jodi Dart, 217-306-5823, jodi@prescriptionjustice.org

 

 

 

 

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