Group: Nevadans pay higher Rx bills

Stephen Curran

Friday, Oct. 22, 2004 | 9:51 a.m.

Uninsured Nevadans pay 81 percent more for 12 of the most common prescription drugs than does the federal government, according to a report issued Thursday by a nonprofit advocacy group.

The U.S. Public Interest Research Group, which is urging Congress to pass legislation to legalize the importation of common prescriptions from Canada and other Western countries, surveyed more than 500 pharmacies in 19 states, finding that Las Vegans face higher prices for prescriptions, from antibiotics to respiratory treatments and heart medications.

The federal government, which buys the drugs for Medicare and Department of Veterans Affairs programs, is part of a "preferred buyer" plan that allows them to negotiate lower prices for the prescriptions, Eliot Abel, a field associate for U.S. PIRG, said.

"It's become a big problem with prices going up every year," Abel said. "It's the people who don't have health insurance who can least afford it bearing the burden."

Abel's group is pushing for passage of the bipartisan Dorgan-Snowe bill, sponsored by Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine. The bill would legalize the import of prescription drugs from Canada and some other countries. It is co-sponsored by 31 other senators, including Nevada Democrat Harry Reid.

Tessa Hafen, a spokeswoman for Reid, said the bill is necessary for Nevada, a state with a large number of uninsured residents.

"America is desperate for cheaper prescription drugs," she said. "Nevada has one of the highest percentage of uninsured employees; still, it's not being done. These prescription drug companies wield considerable influence."

Meanwhile, critics have attacked the bill, saying it fails to provide adequate safeguards for the stream of prescription medications that could potentially enter the United States.

Republican Sen. John Ensign supports the Safe Import Act, a competing measure that would subject foreign providers to heightened federal scrutiny, Jack Finn, a spokesman for Ensign, said.

"The senator feels that safety should be the primary concern," Finn said. "Sen. Dorgan's bill does not provide those safeguards. Often time they come from different countries whose governments can't be trusted to provide those safeguards."