[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 40 (Monday, October 11, 1999)]
[Pages 1957-1958]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Interview With John Roberts of the Columbia Broadcasting System 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 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.

Import of Canadian Pharmaceuticals

    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 re-import 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.

Domestic Price for Pharmaceuticals

    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

[[Page 1958]]

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--

Legislative Action

    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.
    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.