Rita Brissette, 64, of Cumberland, makes a compelling case for being allowed to buy prescription drugs from Canada. Earlier this month, she traveled there with several other Rhode Island seniors and saved more than $700 on a 100-day supply of three of seven medications she must take.
“We may be old, but we’re not stupid,” she said.
Brissette and many others like her are pleased that the state’s new prescription drug law allows her to purchase medications from Canadian pharmacies through the mail.
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“There’s no reason these companies should be recouping expenses out of the pockets of seniors living day to day,” she said. “Seniors are having to make choices that shouldn’t have to be made at the cost of a person’s health.”
It would be foolish to argue that point. Brissette is right. The cost of prescriptions for seniors – and others – is just too high.
But the state Legislature’s recent passage of the prescription medication law marks the beginning of this controversy – not the end.
Gov. Don Carcieri, for example, allowed the legislation to pass, but did not sign it because he expects it to face a legal challenge from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
We hope that before that happens – and expensive legal wrangling ensues – all sides in the discussion – elected leaders, representatives from the pharmaceutical companies and consumers – can work together to improve the climate here for purchasing prescriptions.
At the same time, they must maintain the climate that makes Rhode Island an attractive place for these companies to do business.
As strong as a case that Brissette and others make, companies like Pfizer and Amgen present a strong case of their own as to why the new prescription drug law is simply bad business for Rhode Island.
In recent years, Rhode Island has made great strides in promoting biotechnology as a targeted growth industry. But this new law, say opponents of it, flies in the face of that economic strategy.
Joseph Hammang, director of science policy and public affairs at Pfizer Global Research and Development, said the passage of the law suggests that Rhode Island is not as serious as it can be about promoting the expansion of biotechnology here.
“In the shadow of Boston, this is the kind of step that certainly doesn’t create an environment where innovation is supported,” he said. “As far as attracting biomedical and biotech companies, this law runs counter to the economic strategy that’s been pushed in Rhode Island.”
David Bengston, vice president and general manager of Amgen’s Rhode Island facility, raises some very serious concerns regarding the potential impact of the new prescription drug law.
“Importation proposals, which essentially are price controls, could send a chilling effect to the venture capital community, which many biotech companies rely on to fund innovation,” he said. “For established biotech companies, importation schemes could result in stifling research and development of breakthrough therapies and treatments for serious diseases.”
Rhode Island needs companies like Pfizer and Amgen. Pfizer, with facilities in nearby Connecticut, employs about 500 Rhode Islanders.
With Amgen, with its production facility in West Greenwich, the impact on the Rhode Island economy is even greater. The company employs nearly 1,300 Rhode Islanders and has invested $1 billion in its operation here.
It seems to us that this new prescription medication law is well intentioned, but not necessarily the panacea proponents might believe it to be.
Legislators need to re-think this one. And the pharmaceutical companies need to help with some cost-cutting proposals of their own.
