Government
Drug reimportation panel meets
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted April 5, 2004
The federal Task Force on Drug Importation met March 19 for the first of six information-gathering sessions.
The 13-member task force, chaired by Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona, MD, listened to testimony from consumer advocates calling for reimportation measures to go forward in light of rising prescription drug costs and the fact that many seniors already are ordering drugs from the Internet. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Mark McClellan, MD, was supposed to chair the task force, but was demoted once it became clear that the position would act as an impediment to his approval by the Senate to head the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Medicare reform legislation passed last year contained a reimportation provision requiring an analysis and report on the practice by the end of the year.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2004/04/05/gvbf0405.htm.
