Saturday, May 12, 2007
Letter to a statism-lovin' senator
The Honorable Doug Jackson
Tennessee State Senate
Dear Senator Jackson:
Aren't you the numbnut who sponsored legislation to set up a Tennessee version of I-SAVE-RX, which would allow for the re-importation of drugs from Canada?
Before you and your statist compatriots in the General Assembly stomp around telling thousands of Tennesseans that you're going to knock thousands of dollars off their pharmaceutical bills by lettin' 'em buy their drugs in America, Jr., you might want to check out yesterday's "Potomac Watch" in the Wall Street Journal. I know you're busy and might not have time to read the whole article. Thus, because I'm such a nice guy, I'll hit the high points for you:
"Portland [Maine] was one of those cities that gained notoriety a few years back for defying federal law and setting up a Canada import program that it promised would save its thousands of city employees and their dependents a bundle on drugs. Three years in, it has attracted all of 350 participants. ...
"Ditto, all across America. Three years ago, grandstanding governors and mayors vowed to break federal law and set up state-run drug import programs, giving millions of citizens the 'opportunity' to buy cheap Canadian drugs. The media showered these souls with headlines, praised them for being on the side of poor, strapped U.S. consumers -- then forgot all about it. Today, most state-import programs are on life support, while some have closed completely. Never mind all Washington's hifalutin arguments about intellectual property, free trade and safety; the overwhelming majority of Americans appear to have little use for import programs that offer few drugs at long wait times, under suspect safety conditions and with minimal savings. ...
"If anything, Portland is a success compared to the more high-profile state programs that got rolling in 2004. When Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich introduced his I-Save-RX program, which was initially joined by neighboring Wisconsin, he dramatically declared that 'the nearly 13 million people who live in Illinois and the more than five million people who live in Wisconsin will have the opportunity to save hundreds--and in some cases even thousands--of dollars each year on the high cost of their medicine.' Mr. Blagojevich spent nearly $1 million in taxpayer dollars developing it, including some 500 state workers from two dozen agencies who spent 5,600 hours flacking the program.
"All this caused Illinois Auditor General William Holland to get curious about just how much benefit this wonder program was producing, and last fall he issued a stunning report. Over 19 months of operation, a grand total of 3,689 Illinois residents had used the program, which equals approximately 0.02% of the population. Results from the four other participating states were even more laughably dismal. Wisconsin had 321 people use the program; Kansas 267; Missouri 460; and Vermont 217. Mr. Holland also noted that the program was, er, illegal, and that the state had failed to implement quality control. ...
"Ask program administrators why so few people use Canadian imports, and they'll give you a frank, and long, list. Many consumers are wary about safety issues. They like having a relationship with a local pharmacist, and like knowing their drugs have undergone a U.S. quality check. Many drugs aren't available: that includes anything that needs to be taken immediately (antibiotics, for instance), or specialty drugs (such as injections for diabetics, which are hard to ship). It's also the case that many chronic diseases are today managed with generics, which remain cheaper in the U.S. Those that do use import programs tend to be a very small population that take maintenance drugs, say for high blood pressure, or cholesterol.
"Perhaps an even bigger point is that huge numbers of Americans don't even pay for their drugs, but rather farm out their bills to an insurer. That's even more the case now that seniors are getting their drugs through Medicare. Joseph Bruno, the former Republican minority leader in Maine's legislature and now full-time CEO of a chain of pharmacies in that state, points out that 94.5% of his customers get prescriptions paid by a third party and so aren't price-sensitive.
"Still, don't expect the political caterwauling over imports to go away any time soon. There's still too much political upside to talking up a program that few Americans really want to use." [Emphasis mine]
Cordially,
Joltin' Django
Nashville, Tennessee
Tennessee State Senate
Dear Senator Jackson:
Aren't you the numbnut who sponsored legislation to set up a Tennessee version of I-SAVE-RX, which would allow for the re-importation of drugs from Canada?
Before you and your statist compatriots in the General Assembly stomp around telling thousands of Tennesseans that you're going to knock thousands of dollars off their pharmaceutical bills by lettin' 'em buy their drugs in America, Jr., you might want to check out yesterday's "Potomac Watch" in the Wall Street Journal. I know you're busy and might not have time to read the whole article. Thus, because I'm such a nice guy, I'll hit the high points for you:
"Portland [Maine] was one of those cities that gained notoriety a few years back for defying federal law and setting up a Canada import program that it promised would save its thousands of city employees and their dependents a bundle on drugs. Three years in, it has attracted all of 350 participants. ...
"Ditto, all across America. Three years ago, grandstanding governors and mayors vowed to break federal law and set up state-run drug import programs, giving millions of citizens the 'opportunity' to buy cheap Canadian drugs. The media showered these souls with headlines, praised them for being on the side of poor, strapped U.S. consumers -- then forgot all about it. Today, most state-import programs are on life support, while some have closed completely. Never mind all Washington's hifalutin arguments about intellectual property, free trade and safety; the overwhelming majority of Americans appear to have little use for import programs that offer few drugs at long wait times, under suspect safety conditions and with minimal savings. ...
"If anything, Portland is a success compared to the more high-profile state programs that got rolling in 2004. When Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich introduced his I-Save-RX program, which was initially joined by neighboring Wisconsin, he dramatically declared that 'the nearly 13 million people who live in Illinois and the more than five million people who live in Wisconsin will have the opportunity to save hundreds--and in some cases even thousands--of dollars each year on the high cost of their medicine.' Mr. Blagojevich spent nearly $1 million in taxpayer dollars developing it, including some 500 state workers from two dozen agencies who spent 5,600 hours flacking the program.
"All this caused Illinois Auditor General William Holland to get curious about just how much benefit this wonder program was producing, and last fall he issued a stunning report. Over 19 months of operation, a grand total of 3,689 Illinois residents had used the program, which equals approximately 0.02% of the population. Results from the four other participating states were even more laughably dismal. Wisconsin had 321 people use the program; Kansas 267; Missouri 460; and Vermont 217. Mr. Holland also noted that the program was, er, illegal, and that the state had failed to implement quality control. ...
"Ask program administrators why so few people use Canadian imports, and they'll give you a frank, and long, list. Many consumers are wary about safety issues. They like having a relationship with a local pharmacist, and like knowing their drugs have undergone a U.S. quality check. Many drugs aren't available: that includes anything that needs to be taken immediately (antibiotics, for instance), or specialty drugs (such as injections for diabetics, which are hard to ship). It's also the case that many chronic diseases are today managed with generics, which remain cheaper in the U.S. Those that do use import programs tend to be a very small population that take maintenance drugs, say for high blood pressure, or cholesterol.
"Perhaps an even bigger point is that huge numbers of Americans don't even pay for their drugs, but rather farm out their bills to an insurer. That's even more the case now that seniors are getting their drugs through Medicare. Joseph Bruno, the former Republican minority leader in Maine's legislature and now full-time CEO of a chain of pharmacies in that state, points out that 94.5% of his customers get prescriptions paid by a third party and so aren't price-sensitive.
"Still, don't expect the political caterwauling over imports to go away any time soon. There's still too much political upside to talking up a program that few Americans really want to use." [Emphasis mine]
Cordially,
Joltin' Django
Nashville, Tennessee
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Saturday, May 12, 2007 
