(Nashville, TN) -- Sen. Doug Jackson (D-Dickson) today called for legislative action on prescription drug costs. He addressed the issue of rising drug costs at a meeting of the TennCare Oversight Committee on which he serves.
“Tennesseans could save millions of dollars if we imported prescription drugs from Canada,” Sen. Jackson said. “Just looking at the top 20 drugs used by TennCare, taxpayers could save $181 million if we imported those same drugs from Canada.”
Sen. Jackson said the issue of prescription drug prices was not just about TennCare.
“This is about giving our citizens access to affordable prescription drugs,” Sen. Jackson said. “The legislature doesn’t need to wait for Congress or the federal government to tell us it’s ok to act, we need to act now. Eight other states have already taken action. We need to exercise courage and leadership. The profits big drug companies are extracting at the expense of the health of Tennessee consumers are morally offensive.”
Sen. Jackson conducted a survey of the cost of the top 20 drugs purchased by TennCare and compared the prices of those drugs to the prices of the same drugs if they were re-imported from Canada. In almost every case, the savings was 50 percent or more with the Canadian drugs.
“The drugs from Canada are safe and affordable,” Sen. Jackson noted. “There’s no reason why they shouldn’t be available to Tennessee consumers.”