Many Iowans, especially senior citizens, order inexpensive prescription drugs from Canada — despite various laws banning the practice. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says the issue needs to be addressed and he’s crafting legislation that would do so. Some claim the drugs that are made in the U.S., taken to Canada, then are resold in the U.S. are potentially unsafe.Grassley says the situation “threatens the safety of our nation’s prescription drug supply. It puts patients who obtain these drugs at risk of harm.” He says more competition will drive down the price of drugs.On Monday (yesterday) afternoon, Grassley chaired a Senate Finance Committee nomination hearing for Mark McClellan, who’s been nominated to be the Administrator for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. McClellan is now head of the Food and Drug Administration. Grassley says he and McClellan don’t see eye-to-eye on the sale of prescription drugs by Canadian companies to Americans. Grassley says McClellan is concerned about the safety issue, which Grassley says is a legitimate concern, but Grassley doesn’t see there being a significant risk on the reimportation of pharmaceuticals from Canada, in particular. Grassley says he wants to see safety issues addressed and then have the market opened up to bring competition and lower prices for everyone.
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