WASHINGTON,
D.C. – U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), a cosponsor of legislation
to lower prescription drug costs for seniors, called the recent ads by
the pharmaceutical industry “another shameless attempt to protect profit
margins on the backs of seniors.”
The
ads, appearing on television, radio, and newspapers nationwide, attack
seniors’ trips to Canada to purchase affordable prescription drugs.
These ads are designed to influence debate in Congress on pending bills
that would lower the cost of prescription drugs for seniors and to scuttle
attempts to add a drug benefit to Medicare.
“The
drug companies are pulling the old bait and switch. They are using
a slick and expensive ad campaign to divert attention away from the fact
that they are price gouging American seniors. No matter what the drug companies
do or say or how much money they spend to invade our airwaves, the truth
remains -- this is an industry that will stop at nothing to protect its
profit margin,” Schakowsky said.
“Here
are the indisputable facts about the pharmaceutical industry. This
industry is the most profitable in the world; it gets billions of dollars
in government assistance; and it charges other countries less money for
the same drugs sold here in the United States. Another indisputable fact
about this industry is that it is forcing American seniors to cross the
border to get cheaper prescription drugs. This is wrong and we are here
to force permanent change that will benefit millions of seniors,” Schakowsky
added.
Schakowsky
is a cosponsor of H.R. 1885, the International Prescription Drug Parity
Act. This bill would allow the United States to import prescription
drugs from Canada, leading to lower drug prices. In addition, Schakowsky
is a cosponsor of other bills that would make prescription drugs more affordable
for seniors.
“Even
the drug companies admit in their ads that American seniors have to go
to Canada to get affordable drugs. It is no surprise that the industry
says that this is bad medicine. The drug companies would rather keep
seniors here at home, deny them access to cheap drugs, and charge them
exorbitant prices,” Schakowsky said.
Schakowsky
had released three reports last year that found that pharmaceutical companies
are gouging seniors. A report found that seniors living in the Chicago
area pay 80% more for the same drugs sold in Mexico and Canada. Another
report found that drug manufacturers on average charge more than twice
as much when drugs are intended for human use than for animal use.
Finally, a report concluded that uninsured seniors living in the Chicago
area pay 114% more for their medications as compared to HMOs and insurance
companies. |