WASHINGTON – The House voted yesterday to let Americans buy medicine through the mail from overseas dealers – a potentially risky move to help people afford cheaper prescription drugs.
The Food and Drug Administration opposes the bill because it doesn’t regulate overseas drugmakers and can’t ensure the safety of their products.
But lawmakers backed it amid growing pressure to help millions of Americans who have a hard time affording medicine.
Prescription drugs can cost much less in Europe and Canada. For instance, a 30-day supply of allergy medicine Claritin costs $63 in the United States but $16 in Europe.
The bill would apply only to drugs already approved by the FDA. Currently, buying drugs from foreign dealers isn’t allowed and can result in a warning letter from the FDA.
In another move to make drugs more affordable, President Bush will announce a plan today to offer drug-discount cards to millions of Americans on Medicare.
At a one-time cost of $25, the cards would let seniors get discounts of about 20 percent on prescription drugs, a White House official said.
Currently, one-third of those on Medicare don’t have prescription-drug coverage.
A White House official said drug makers and retail pharmacies would be encouraged to offer the discount cards to Medicare recipients in order to tap into the huge number of Medicare customers.