Council for Citizens Against Government Waste Urges Gov. DeSantis to Reject Prescription Drug Price Controls

WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) President Tom
Schatz sent a letter
to Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) urging him to reject HB 19 and SB 1528 on
the grounds that they would allow the importation of potentially
dangerous drugs subject to socialist price controls into the state of
Florida.

The letter reads, in part:

“HB 19 / SB 1528, sponsored by Rep. Tom Leek (R-25) and Sen. Aaron Bean
(R-4), aim to lower prescription drug prices by creating a Canadian and
an International Prescription Drug Importation program, allowing
Floridians to buy drugs at a savings through the price controls on
pharmaceuticals imposed by Canada and other countries.”

“Under the bill, Florida would establish programs to oversee Canadian
and international drug importation for the state, provided it gets
approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). As counterfeit
drugs are on the rise, it is extremely dangerous to have a state with a
population of 21 million operating outside of the closed pharmaceutical
distribution system overseen by the FDA. While the legislation requires
the state to hire a vendor to contract with eligible importers, it will
still be necessary for the state to assure that not only the vendor, but
also the drug suppliers, are in full compliance with federal laws,
including the complex track and trace system; Canadian laws; and laws
within the jurisdiction in which they are operating. The rigorous and
expensive oversight required would be monumental, and a single mistake
could be deadly.”

“Our nation is on the precipice of veering off into a single-payer
healthcare system where price controls and rationing are used to keep
down prices. If this proposal should become law, it would send the
unfortunate message that a conservative governor approved a bill that
adopted a socialist scheme in an attempt to drive down healthcare costs.”

The
Council for Citizens Against Government Waste is the lobbying arm of
Citizens Against Government Waste, the nation’s largest nonpartisan,
nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and
mismanagement in government.

Contacts

Curtis Kalin (202) 467-5318