[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 76 (Tuesday, June 11, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H3427]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        THE HIGH COST OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS IN THE UNITED STATES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Gutknecht) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GUTKNECHT. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to speak about an issue 
that unfortunately more and more Americans are becoming acutely aware 
of, that is, the high cost of prescription drugs here in the United 
States, especially relative to the prices that people are paying in 
other parts of the world, other industrialized countries, where we see 
enormous differentials for the same drugs made in the same plants under 
the same FDA approval.
  I have a chart here, and it has a list. These are not my numbers; 
this is an independent group called the Life Extension Foundation. They 
have been doing research of this type for a number of years and have 
been very helpful in at least clarifying what is going on in terms of 
the way the drug companies set their prices.
  The more we learn about this issue, the angrier we will become when 
we see what they are doing to American consumers. For example, here are 
roughly 15 of the most commonly prescribed drugs in the United States. 
Here is what we are paying on an average for a 30-day supply here in 
the United States, and on the other list we have what the average price 
in Europe is.
  Now, some people say, well, some countries have price controls, and 
it is hard to compare apples to oranges, and all that. Well, let us 
talk about some countries that do not have price controls, not as we 
know they are: Germany, Switzerland. Those are two good examples. Let 
us look at what we are paying here in the United States and what they 
are paying in places like Germany and Switzerland.
  Let us take a drug like Cipro. We all learned a lot about Cipro last 
November when we had the threats, and ultimately several postal workers 
lost their lives because of what happened last fall. We bought an awful 
lot of Cipro. To his credit, Secretary Tommy Thompson got a very good 
price on that Cipro that he bought.
  But let us look at what the average consumer would have to pay for 
Cipro. Cipro is a drug made by a pharmaceutical company called Bayer, 
or we say it Bayer, here in the United States, the same people that 
make the aspirin. In the United States, the average price for a 30-day 
supply of Cipro is $87.99. That same drug in Berlin sells for $40.75.
  As we look down this list, we see some even bigger disparities: 
Claritin, a drug that is going off-patent still sells in the United 
States on average, or at least when this chart was put together a few 
months ago, sold for an average of $89 for a 30-day supply. That exact 
same drug in Europe sells for $18.75. Again, the same drug, the same 
FDA approval, made in the same plants, selling for a fraction of what 
they sell for in Europe.
  Coumadin, a drug that I am very familiar with, my 85-year-old father 
takes Coumadin. It is a blood thinner very commonly prescribed for 
seniors. In fact, most of them, once they start on Coumadin, they stay 
on it for the rest of their lives. The price here in the United States 
on an average for a 30-day supply is $64.88; the same drug in Europe 
sells for $15.80.
  If we go down the list, it makes us angry when we see the 
differences. A relatively simple drug like Premarin, in the United 
States it sells for an average of $55.42; in Europe, the same drug, 
$8.95. The list goes on. If anybody would like the entire list, they 
can contact my office. We will send it to them. Again, I did not create 
this chart. I cannot defend this chart, and neither can anybody else.
  Here is another chart that cannot be explained or defended. Last 
year, the last year we have numbers for, what happened to prescription 
drug prices? In the United States, the average price for prescription 
drugs went up 19 percent. I mentioned that Coumadin that is now $64 for 
a 30-day supply in the United States. Two years ago, that same drug 
sold for $38 in the United States. That is how much it has gone up in 
just 2 years.
  At the same time, the Social Security cost-of-living adjustments that 
we gave to those seniors who have to buy those drugs only went up 3.5 
percent. This is unsustainable. This is wrong, and Congress ought to do 
something about it:
  Let us get to the big numbers. Let us get to the big numbers. This is 
where it starts to really cost. This number on top is one, then an 
eight, then a zero and a zero and a zero and a zero and a zero and a 
zero and a zero and a zero and a zero and a zero and a zero, $1.8 
trillion. That is what the Congressional Budget Office tells us that 
seniors, these are people 65 years and older, will spend for 
prescription drugs in just the next 10 years, $1.8 trillion.
  Now, Members, conservatively, if we just open up the market, if we 
just allow seniors to buy drugs from other countries, and I want them 
to go to their local pharmacist, I want them to be able to go down to 
the local pharmacist and the pharmacist can say to them, listen, I can 
fill that out of my supply that is American, and the price will be $64, 
or I can order it from Europe for you on the Web, and we can have it 
here in 3 days, and the price will be $18, or whatever the number is.
  Markets work. Markets are more powerful than armies. If we simply do 
this, I believe we can save at least 35 percent; 35 percent of $1.8 
trillion is $630 billion. That would go a long way to helping to pay 
for a benefit for those seniors who currently fall through the cracks.
  Mr. Speaker, the time has come to open up the markets and allow 
Americans to have access to drugs at world market prices.

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