Saturday, June 05, 2004

From Bloomberg:
Massachusetts Town Defies Bush on Drug Imports, Saves $2.8 Mln
Springfield Massachusetts saved $2.8 million in the past year by importing prescription drugs from Canada for its employees and pensioners, defying the Bush administration, the world's biggest drugmakers and local doctors.

The ``Springfield Meds'' program benefits from cost reductions of as much as 70 percent because of Canada's price controls. The savings show why U.S. cities, counties and states are pressuring Congress to make it easier to import medicines.

While the Bush administration opposes imports, citing safety concerns, regulators helped New Hampshire Republican Senator Judd Gregg craft a proposal to make the process legal. Gregg announced his bill Wednesday and said his health committee would vote on it by the end of July. Two similar bills have been proposed in the Senate, and the House has passed an import measure.

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