Southeast Missouri Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson is again talking up the benefits of having the Food and Drug Administration allow for the reimportation of prescription drugs from Canada and other countries in which the drugs are sold for a fraction of the prices they sell for in this country. Emerson, the co-sponsor of a bill passed by the House of Representatives and currently being negotiated with the Senate, points to an Illinois study which makes it clear there are huge savings to be realized if the FDA allows for the rules to be changed. Emerson points out many people in northern states cross into Canada to buy their prescription drugs – the exact same drugs sold here for much higher prices. The Medicaid prescription drug bill, with or without the reimportation measure, could be voted on sometime this Fall and sent to President Bush.
