USA - Congress wants to allow import prescription drugs from Canada.

[Paracelsus]

A new kind of drug war

Last Thursday, members of Congress decided it's time to allow U.S. citizens to bring lower-priced prescription drugs back from Canada. No more hassles from Border Patrol agents, who had been seizing such drugs because importing foreign pharmaceuticals violates federal law.

About the same time lawmakers were announcing that addition to a Homeland Security bill, officials at Wal-Mart Stores surprised just about everyone with their own announcement. Wal-Mart unveiled a pilot program in Florida stores to drop the price to $4 for a 30-day prescription of 291 generic drugs.

Four dollars? Isn't that less than many people's co-pay in their prescription drug insurance plan? Why, yes, it is.
There was quite a reaction on Wall Street to these bombshell announcements. Share prices for pharmacy companies plunged, some more than 8 percent.
The motives for such a change of heart by members of Congress are fairly obvious. First, it's clear Americans are going to buy cheaper prescription drugs in Canada and bring them across the border, no matter what the law is. Second, there's an important mid-term election in a few weeks. Giving consumers a break - which they should have had anyway, if lawmakers weren't in the pockets of drug companies - is the right thing to do.
Wal-Mart's motives are fairly obvious as well. As the world's largest retailer, it simply wants more. How many more truckloads of laundry detergent, lawn fertilizer and fishing rods do you think folks picking up cheap prescriptions will buy once they're in the store?
Wal-Mart critics point out that the list of $4 prescriptions is woefully small. While Wal-Mart discounts prices on 291 generics, Walgreens officials point out that they offer more than 1,800 generic drugs - but not with the $4 price tag. Critics also point out that before Wal-Mart is granted sainthood for helping the little guy, you need to know that more than half its own employees don't have health insurance.
Still, last week was a good one for consumers who need prescription drugs, and most likely the beginning of a kind of drug war that makes a lot of sense.