Bill at Odds with Governor DeSantis, Turns Back on Medical and Financial Needs of Elderly At Time Of High inflation

MIAMI, FLORIDA, USA, December 15, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Today, an advance copy of a bill led by Florida Senator Marco Rubio that would rob seniors of critical maintenance medicines is circling Washington, DC. The Campaign for Personal Prescription Importation shared a copy of the DRUGS Act (short for ‘Domain Reform for Unlawful Drug Sellers Act) that is set to be introduced imminently by Senators Marco Rubio (FL) and Amy Klobuchar (MN). The bill is at odds with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump leadership efforts to advance the importation of affordable drugs.

“Senator Rubio’s efforts to rob Florida’s grandparents of their medication are shocking,” says Jack Pfeiffer, Executive Director of the Campaign for Personal Prescription Importation. “Americans are struggling more than ever to cover healthcare and prescription drug costs. Why Rubio would play the grinch and undercut Governor DeSantis and bipartisan efforts to expand access to affordable Canadian meds is unimaginable.”

The DRUGS Act comes as nearly a third of Americans — triple the share since March— say they've skipped medications or medical care in the previous three months due to cost concerns. AARP reports that retail prices for some of the most widely used brand name prescription drugs continue to increase twice as much as inflation.

Millions of Americans depend on personal prescription importation for affordable access to prescription medications they need, and demand is rising. CPPI estimates that over 45,000 Floridians order prescription medications from safe and licensed online Canadian pharmacies. The majority of people importing their medications tend to be older Americans, often living on fixed incomes. Americans find savings of 50% to 90% for name brand prescription drugs at online Canadian pharmacies compared to prices at leading U.S. pharmacies, Amazon or GoodRx.

Prescription importation is broadly supported by the public, Democrats and Republicans as a way to lower drug prices. Nearly 80 percent of the public say it should be legal for Americans to purchase drugs from Canada according to a recent POLITICO/Harvard survey. A Kaiser Health Poll shows similarly high support for importation from Canada by Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. Both Presidents Trump and Biden issued executive orders to advance prescription importation.

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About the Campaign for Personal Prescription Importation

CPPI is a national nonprofit patient advocacy organization that fights for Americans’ access to safe, affordable prescription medications from Canada for personal use. Tens of millions of Americans – especially the elderly and others on fixed incomes – struggle to pay the extremely high price of prescription medications in the U.S. We are here to be their voice.

Millions of Americans use licensed Canadian pharmacies annually, to purchase their daily prescription medications at an affordable price. We believe that all Americans have a right to affordable medications. It is time to change the current U.S. policy on this issue to provide immediate access to life-saving medications, taken daily for chronic health conditions, at affordable prices.

Jack Pfeiffer
Campaign for Personal Prescription Importation
+1 202-641-8574
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