Website for Canadian Drugs Urged

Californians could go to a state-sponsored website to shop for cheaper prescription drugs from Canada under a bill introduced Thursday in the state Assembly.

The bill is one of several recently drafted by Democratic lawmakers to check the upward spiral of prescription drug costs, both for sick Californians and for taxpayers who pay billions of dollars to buy drugs for poor people, prisoners and retirees.

“Obviously we’re hearing from constituents,” said Assemblyman Dario Frommer (D-Los Feliz). “They’re upset, they want some relief. We’re hearing from employers. They’re concerned about their healthcare premiums, which have gone up at twice the rate of inflation. And now we’re hearing it in terms of budget writing, when we look at what costs we need to get our arms around and control.”

In a Capitol news conference, Frommer and four other lawmakers unveiled a package of seven bills, the most controversial of which is likely to be AB 1957. That bill would require the state Board of Pharmacy to create a website that compares prices between American and Canadian pharmacies. The website also would link consumers to Canadian pharmacies that the board has certified as legitimate and safe.

Federal law prohibits individual Americans from importing prescription drugs from other countries, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has yet to prosecute anyone for ignoring the ban. Experts estimate that more than 1 million Americans have purchased Canadian drugs, either in person, over the Internet or through the mail.

Prescription drugs in Canada generally cost less -- sometimes as much as 70% less -- because the government there controls prices, experts say. The imbalance has prompted a growing number of American cities and states to urge the federal government to either give them waivers to import drugs or set up a program to screen and sanction Canadian drugs for sale in the U.S.

Frommer said his bill would not violate federal law.

“We have the power under current state law to certify mail-order pharmacies through our Board of Pharmacy,” he said.

“The FDA hasn’t prosecuted anybody, but people are doing it,” said Frommer. “We want to make sure they’re getting those drugs safely.”

FDA officials warn that although Canadian drug standards are probably not much different from those in the U.S., some drug makers in other countries such as Romania and Pakistan funnel their wares through Canada without regard to those safety standards.

Frommer also is sponsoring a bill, AB 1958, that would allow state agencies, businesses and health maintenance organizations to pool their drug purchases.

Large purchases should give the state better leverage to negotiate prices, he said.

Other bills introduced Thursday include AB 1959 by Assemblywoman Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park), which would allow certain lawmakers, under an oath of secrecy, to review the prescription drug contracts signed by state agencies.

A federal report last year found that California had failed to take advantage of $1.34 billion in rebates from drug manufacturers.

Last year, as lawmakers struggled to close a $35-billion budget gap, Chu said, they could rely only on the promises of state department heads that they were getting the best deals on prescription drug prices.

“The departments always claim that disclosure of the contracts would jeopardize proprietary information,” she said.