    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
    [October 7, 1999]
    [Pages 1707-1709]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Interview With John Roberts of CBS in New York
    City
    October 7, 1999

        Mr. Roberts. Mr. President, sir. Good to meet you; how are you?
        The President. Good to see you.

    Medicare Prescription Benefit

        Mr. Roberts. So, you know the issue, sir. You've been trying to
    address it, the idea that there are 15 million senior citizens in this
    country who don't have Medicaid coverage for prescription drugs--
    Medicare coverage. What does it say about a country, sir, where many
    people have to go outside of the country to buy drugs that they can
    afford?
        The President. Well, it's wrong, and it happens because we have
    about three-quarters of our senior citizens need prescription drugs that
    they simply can't afford. They don't have access to any coverage, or the
    coverage they have is too expensive and too limited. And in Canada and
    in many places, drugs made in America are cheaper than they are here
    because bigger units can buy discounts.
        Now this proposal I made to reform Medicare is totally voluntary; no
    senior has to buy a prescription drug coverage if he or she doesn't want
    it. But if they do buy it, then a private group, not the Government,
    would be able to get the drugs at a lower cost because they would be
    buying them in bulk. And I think it's fair. It will not adversely affect
    the drug companies. It will increase their volume, even though the
    drugs, individually, will be cheaper. They will

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    still come out way ahead. And our people will be treated more fairly,
    and they won't have to depend upon whether they're on the Canadian
    border to run across the line to buy drugs they can afford.
        Mr. Roberts. What do you think about the idea of allowing pharmacies
    to re-import drugs, parallel importing for senior citizens and allow
    them access to the cheaper prices that they would pay in Canada?
        The President. You're the first person that ever asked me that. I
    don't know. But I'll look into it. It's an interesting idea. I never
    thought about it.
        Mr. Roberts. That's Congressman Sanders' idea. He has proposed to
    allow pharmacies to reimport drugs from Canada or Mexico. There has been
    some question as to whether or not that would be legal because of FDA
    regulations. But that's the idea that he is proposing.
        The President. Well, if you could preserve their safety and quality,
    that there were some assurance of that, I would think it could be done.
    And it might work well along the Canadian border for Vermont, where
    Congressman Sanders lives, and for the other
    States along the border.
        Then the further you get away from the border, the question is, will
    the transportation cost back more than offset the money that you would
    otherwise save? I don't know the answer. You're the first person that's
    ever asked me that. But I'll look into it.
        Mr. Roberts. Now, the drug companies have been saying that even
    under your plan, which would allow Medicare to buy drugs in bulk, it
    would decrease the revenue stream to the point where research and
    development would be stifled. I mean, would you look at the profits
    they've been making in the last few years. Is that a legitimate
    argument?
        The President. No. No, you know, they said that over and over and
    over again. American drug companies charge American citizens far more
    money for the same pharmaceuticals than they charge Europeans,
    Canadians, Mexicans, anyone else.
        Mr. Roberts. Does that seem right?
        The President. No. They say they do it because we bear the full cost
    of the research and development cost, and they can't put it off on any
    of the others because the Government controls the prices. That's what
    they say.
        So I think if that's true, then the United States and its people
    have been awfully good to our drug companies. They've been willing to
    pay higher prices for drugs made in America than people in other
    countries do, and I think they owe it to the seniors to get off this
    high horse and stop trying to beat this attempt to extend medical
    coverage to seniors for prescription drugs.
        People that live on fixed incomes ought to be able to get the
    benefit of discounts you get when you buy in bulk. This is not
    Government regulation; this is market power. A lot of these drugs they
    have long since recovered the research and developments cost, long
    since. And I just think it's wrong for our people either not to be able
    to get them at all or to pay so much more than others do. And this is
    one way to sort of split the difference between their position that they
    need higher profits to invest in research and development and the very
    low cost that they can get if they happen to live close enough to the
    Canadian border to cross it.
        So I would like to see Medicare cover prescription drugs on a
    voluntary basis so our seniors can get discount prices. It's very
    important.
        Mr. Roberts. The ideas that have been floated in the Senate, which
    ostensibly are voucher systems, would you agree with that type of system
    to pay for prescription drugs?
        The President. Well, it wouldn't be as effective as the proposal
    we've made because it would be more difficult to get the benefit of
    discounts. And therefore, over a few years it would be harder to keep
    the premiums down. But as I said, I would like to see the Members of
    Congress in both parties engage with us on this. Let's work it through.
    Let's come up with something. You've got three-quarters of our seniors
    in trouble out there, and we ought to do something about it.
        Mr. Roberts. In terms of national priorities, how important is this?
        The President. Oh, I think it's very important. The big challenges
    facing our country right now, at the top of those challenges are what to
    do about the aging of America as more of us live longer--that means we
    have to save Social Security and reform and modernize Medicare; and the
    children of America--we have to give all of our kids a world-class
    education with the most diverse student population ever.

    [[Page 1709]]

        Those are the big challenges we face. And to me this is a big part
    of it. You're going to have--the average 65-year-old person today has a
    life expectancy of 82. The people being born today, if the human genome
    project works out right, might have a life expectancy of 100. But if
    that's true, in order to maintain their quality of life and their health
    and not bankrupt the hospitals, we'll have to keep more and more of them
    well with the proper kind of drug treatment programs.
        So you want the drug companies to be able to continue to pioneer new
    drugs, but they've got to be affordable, and they have to be accessible.
        Mr. Roberts. Thank you for your time, sir, I appreciate it.
        The President. Thank you.

    Note: The interview began at approximately 3:40 p.m. at the Sheraton New
    York Hotel and Tower. A tape was not available for verification of the
    content of this interview.