Attorney General provides limited definition of “FDA approved”
One of the accomplishments of the last session was passage of a bill to provide Nevadans with affordable prescription drugs. The bill, Senate Bill 5, allows the state to maintain a website with information on how to buy prescription drugs, which have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, from Canadian pharmacies.
Now the program’s run into some difficulty, in the form of an Attorney General’s opinion that hinges on the definition of “FDA approved.” The author of this component of the bill, Senator Joe Heck (R-Las Vegas), maintains this stipulation was intended to ensure the drugs themselves are FDA approved. But the AG opinion raises the concern that this requirement also extends to the packaging- thereby constricting the pool of available drugs since packaging in Canada is different from packaging in the U.S.
Local activist Barbara Stone finds this development troubling. From the Reno Gazette Journal story on the opinion:
Stone, 69, said she doesn’t take three medications prescribed by her doctor because she can’t afford them. She traveled to Mexico to buy a year’s supply of her bone density prescription at a price she could afford. She had planned on using the state’s Canadian Web site for help.
It now goes to the State Pharmacy Board, as they choose whether to incorporate the opinion in their development of the program. Here’s hoping common sense prevails and we can move forward with this innovative approach to help our seniors.
January 7th, 2006 at 9:36 am
[…] As posted earlier, the program to reduce perscription costs by importing FDA-approved drugs from Canada is facing opposition in the form of a narrowly-crafted Attorney General’s opinion defining “FDA-approved” as pertaining to not just the compound of the drugs, but the packaging as well. Since the drugs are packaged differently in Canada, if this opinion is heeded by the state’s Pharmacy Board, it would effectively stop the program’s implementation. […]
January 12th, 2006 at 5:29 pm
[…] Previous posts: Speak out for lower prescription drug costs Attorney General provides limited definition of “FDA approved” […]