Byron Dorgan: “The Senator from California says it better than I. In the multiple-tiered pricing systems, we have preferred customers…”

“The Senator from California says it better than I. In the multiple-tiered pricing systems, we have preferred customers who get drugs at a fraction of the price if they are in the right system; others pay the highest price on Main Street because the local pharmacies are not able to access, in most cases, those less expensive drugs. We have several different problems with pricing. One is internal. A preferred customer gets one price; if one is not preferred, they get another price. Often, senior citizens are the ones who walk to the corner drugstore in their hometown. The corner drugstores buy from a distributor that does not give them the preferred prices, and senior citizen pay the highest prices. I took senior citizens to Emerson, Canada. Senator Wellstone and others are working with me on a piece of legislation that deals with the international pricing issues. Senator Wellstone has done the same with Minnesotans and talked about this issue. We went to Emerson, Canada, which is 5 miles north of the North Dakota border. The same drugs are being sold 5 miles north of the border at a fraction of the price as in Walhalla or Pembina, ND. Does anyone think the drug companies are selling in Emerson County at a loss? Of course not. A small drugstore--a little, one-room drugstore in Emerson County is making a profit, pricing at a fraction of what they charge 5 miles south. We have two issues. One is something called the International Prescription Drug Parity Act.”