AARP Rallies Demand Lower Rx Prices

Source: AARP.org | October 19, 2004

Hundreds of AARP members rallied at three Michigan bridges simultaneously in support of legal and safe drug importation from Canada.

The AARP members arrived by bus Sept. 27 at the sun-drenched sites in Detroit, Port Huron and Sault Ste. Marie to demand relief through immediate passage of U.S. Senate legislation that would legalize the importation of prescription drugs from Canada.

Those attending the rallies at the Ambassador Bridge, Blue Water Bridge and International Bridge heard civic, political and AARP leaders support their demand that a U.S. Senate bill that would legalize safe importation be brought to the floor of the Senate for a vote now.

That bipartisan bill, also known as the Pharmaceutical Market Access Act, is popularly called the Dorgan-Snowe bill (SB 2328) after its sponsors. AARP members at the rally were clad in bright red t-shirts printed with the saying, "Pass Dorgan-Snowe Now!"

The bill is cosponsored by Michigan Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow. Sen. Stabenow was among the speakers at the Detroit rally.

Speakers at each rally decried the high cost of prescription drugs and cited safe and legal importation as one part of a solution to the problem.

In Detroit, AARP volunteer Mildred Scott talked about why she has purchased drugs in Canada, noting that she is "tired of buying drugs that seem to go up in price every time I go to buy them."

"I know getting my drugs from Canada is not legal yet, but I hope that by speaking here today, I help us reach the time when importation is legal," Scott said. "The real crime isn't importing drugs from Canada, it's not being able to afford at all the drugs that we need."

In Port Huron, AARP Michigan Congressional Affairs Liaison Silla Tomasi called the Dorgan-Snowe bill "the right bill at the right time," noting that the legislation provides for imported drug safety protections urged by AARP.

"The drug companies and their army of high-paid lobbyists think they can continue to raise their prices at triple the rate of inflation, as they have done in recent years," Tomasi said. "Not if we have anything to say about it. We are here today to insist that our elected representatives listen to us, not those lobbyists, and give us relief from outrageous drug prices by legalizing importation."

In Sault Ste. Marie, AARP Michigan Executive Council member Lillian Kumata cited AARP's "steadfast commitment to making prescription drugs more affordable for all Americans," and condemned skyrocketing prices.

"The cost of prescription drugs is soaring, rising by double digits year after year," Kumata said. "The first of AARP's 'Watchdog' studies on drug pricing showed that brand name prescription drug prices in 2003 increased at nearly triple the rate of inflation.

And it's only getting worse. Our second 'Watchdog' report found that, for the first three months of 2004, wholesale drug prices rose 7.2% from the first quarter of 2003—when the overall rate of inflation for the same period actually declined from 2.3 to 2%."

Other Resources

• Medicare and Prescription Drugs
  Find out AARP's position on importation and other information about the high cost of prescription drugs.