Frank Pallone: “The most problematic revolt is coming from a group of Republicans who want the bill to address price issues rather than…”

“The most problematic revolt is coming from a group of Republicans who want the bill to address price issues rather than coverage. The central issue is affordability. As we move down the path towards passage of a drug benefit, that issue has been given short shrift. He wants to include in the bill an amendment he has pushed through the House before. It would make it easier for Americans to reimport U.S. made drugs from other countries at controlled prices. He said, 'I am tired of subsidizing the starving Swiss.' He was actually on the floor tonight talking about the reimportation issue, which is one way to bring down price. If we allow drugs to come from Canada or other countries and create competition that way, prices would come down considerably. But this was an amendment just like his that I offered in the Committee on Energy and Commerce that the Republicans voted against because they did not want to see any reimportation because it would address the issue of price.”