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2004 SESSION

047098216
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 199
Offered January 14, 2004
Prefiled January 14, 2004
Memorializing the Congress of the United States to remove current restrictions on the purchasing of prescription drugs from Canada.
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Patrons-- Armstrong and Marshall, D.W.; Senator: Reynolds
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Referred to Committee on Rules
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WHEREAS, payment for prescription drugs is the fastest growing segment of health care expenditures both at the national level and here in the Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, an estimated one million to two million Americans buy prescription drugs from Canadian businesses, where they are up to 50 percent cheaper because of price controls; and

WHEREAS, the Commonwealth spent a total of $105.1 million on pharmacy costs for insured state employees in Fiscal Year 2003, which was a 13 percent overall increase from Fiscal Year 2002; and

WHERAS, Illinois, Michigan, Iowa and Minnesota recently announced that they are exploring the option of purchasing prescription drugs from Canada for insured state workers because rising drug costs are forcing them to cut other services; and

WHEREAS, effective pharmaceuticals improve the quality of life for the Commonwealth's elderly citizens and help contain the health care costs associated with aging; and

WHEREAS, Wisconsin recently announced that it is exploring with Canadian officials innovative ways to increase access to lower-priced Canadian prescription drugs for Wisconsin's elderly citizens on fixed incomes, while assuring the highest level of safety; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the Congress of the United States be urged to remove current restrictions on the purchasing of prescription drugs from Canada; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates transmit copies of this resolution to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the President of the United States Senate, and the members of the Virginia Congressional Delegation so that they may be apprised of the sense of the General Assembly of Virginia in this matter.