Sanders offers bill to allow purchase of prescription drugs from

>The Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers of America say drugs from other countries do not necessarily meet the U.S. safety standards and could "taint our medical supply."

>Sanders said he expects the drug lobby to put up a big fight, but that he will win this time.

>"Do we expect the pharmaceutical industry will spend an enormous sum of money to oppose this? Of course we do," Sanders said.

>"This is the time. The American people are sick and tired of getting ripped off, and we're going to win this thing."

>Nearly 170 organizations also signed a letter to Congress Tuesday urging Congress to block the bill, citing the "hazards of drug importation."

>“Proposals allowing importation would undermine nearly two decades of drug safety policy," reads the letter, signed by the American Pharmacists Association and other groups.

>"Additionally, a large share of medicines that flow through Canada are counterfeit, and while it may seem safe to import medicines from developed countries like Canada and Western Europe, those medicines may have originated from countries all over the world."

itll never pass its too reasonable

>>162934
Hell why not India too

>>162939
If the pharmacies and their suppliers can be vetted to some extent, then i don't see why patients shouldn't at least have the option to import. It seems nonsensical to think it's better to go without life saving treatment than to have access to it with a relatively small probability of falling sick.

>>162943
How do you vet a company to sell in the US when their product violates US Patent law?

>>162945
Same thing Pepsi does with coke - change the color of the bottle and add sugar

i like it.

>>162934
>heat on President Trump to address high prescription drug costs

He's been trying to solve that by repealing the cause: Obamacare. Apply heat where it belongs.

>>162934
Sounds great, too bad it will get shut down as soon as pharmaceutical companies see it as a threat to their profits.

>>162989
You're definitely too young to remember, but prescription drugs cost a shitload of money BEFORE as well as after obamacare. Obamacare doesn't actually influence prescription drug costs all that much, believe it or not.

>>163005
>You're definitely too young to remember, but prescription drugs cost a shitload of money

Ooor I could remember it being a "solution" proposed for Medicaid during the Bush administration. And remember it being played as a justification for Hillarycare during the Clinton administration. And remember it flipped to Mexico as a source during the Reagan administration.

Some shit never changes.

>>163005
Prescription drugs cost alot in the US because we subsidize the cost for poorer countries

>"The president's support for these ideas have been so clear that I'm tempted to introduce a bill in the House named 'The Donald Trump Drug Affordability Act.' I'm sure he would like that."
This honestly might work

>>163018
This.
Not just for poor countries but also for other 1st world nations.
Most pharmaceutical companies capture their massive R&D costs in the far more open US market. They know that Medicade will pay for anything regardless of cost. Plus, those that aren't on Medicade can be conned into buying their drugs using ads. So, importing drugs won't really solve anything. It will only suppress innovation by making it basically impossible for pharmaceutical companies to recoup the the R&D costs.
A better system would be some type of fund where many nations would pool money to subsidize R&D costs for pharmaceutical drugs. The health benefit of the drug should be proportional to the R&D subsidy you get.

>>163018
This is the shit I don't like.

We elect politicians to protect our interests, not the interests of the poor people in India, not the interests of the poor people in Africa, us.

We still have a ton of veterans that need looking after.

>>162934
>Sen. Bernie Sanders
Criminals and frauds should not be allowed to introduce bills.

LOCK HIM UP
LOCK HIM UP
LOCK HIM UP

>>163029
The republicans will never support a democrat bill especially one from a "communist"

>>163039
They spend far more on advertising in the US than R&D.

Liberal source:https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/02/11/big-pharmaceutical-companies-are-spending-far-more-on-marketing-than-research/

Conservative source: https://www.infowars.com/pharma-companies-spend-19x-more-on-marketing-than-research-and-returns-are-dropping/

>>163018

The way patent law works in the US is another major problem.

Drug patents last more than twice as long as any other country, and when they do expire, other manufacturers have to continue to pay royalties to the original patent holder.

Viagra is a perfect example of this. The drug costs next to nothing to make now and Pfizer made back its R&D budget in the first year.