Byron Dorgan: “They would not allow a pharmacist who runs a drug store in Grand Forks to go to Canada and purchase Claritin and bring…”

“They would not allow a pharmacist who runs a drug store in Grand Forks to go to Canada and purchase Claritin and bring it back and sell it to a consumer. That is the problem. We have a global economy that is apparently good for the global interests, but it doesn't work for the Main Street pharmacist or distributor who wants to access lower prescription drug prices in Canada, for example. But if you ask doctors where we go from here, they will tell you that if you have a senior citizen who has a series of health difficulties-- and often they do, perhaps diabetes, perhaps some cardiac problems, arthritis, a whole series of problems--the most expensive way to treat them is to wait until the problem is magnified because they cannot afford the prescription drugs they need. If they cannot afford them, they will just not get them, and that is the expensive way to solve medical problems. What will happen to that patient? He will end up in a hospital bed someplace. And what does it cost for a day in the hospital? It is less expensive way to say to those folks: Here are the opportunities for you to access the right kind of prescription medicines that you need to manage your disease, and to allow you to stay out of the hospital. That is the most thoughtful and the least expensive way to treat health problems. In some ways it is like the old argument about wellness. We have always, as a country, been willing to treat somebody who is desperately ill.…”