[Ip-health] Associated Press: Kerry Says Bush Is Blocking Drug Imports From Canada

[Thiru Balasubramaniam]

Kerry Says Bush Is Blocking
Drug Imports From Canada

*Associated Press*
August 11, 2004 11:33 p.m.

HENDERSON, Nev. -- Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said
President Bush is standing in the way of lower drug prices for
cash-strapped seniors by refusing to allow prescription imports from Canada=
.

Mr. Kerry launched a new push for support from senior citizens by trying
to persuade them that Mr. Bush will hurt their bottom line with his
prescription drug policies and efforts to privatize Social Security.

Mr. Kerry said Mr. Bush is standing in the way of bipartisan efforts in
Congress to allow drug imports from Canada. He compared the prices of
popular drugs in the United States and Canada, noting they were close to
more than twice as expensive stateside.

"George Bush stood right there and said, "Nope, we're not going to help
people to have lower cost drugs in America, we're going to help the big
drug companies get a great big windfall," Mr. Kerry said.

"It's a monopoly and it's been put in place by George Bush and his
friends and it's costing you a whole bunch of extra money and it's
wrong," he added.

Mr. Bush's campaign accused Mr. Kerry of making false charges against
the president. For instance, they said, Mr. Bush's opposes importation
from Canada because of safety concerns. The White House has said it
would be virtually impossible to ensure that drugs being imported are
approved by the Food and Drug Administration and not counterfeit.

Also, Mr. Bush does not support privatization of Social Security for
today's seniors. He wants to give younger workers the option of putting
part of their payroll tax into personal retirement accounts, giving them
a chance to make a higher return on that investment in return for
smaller Social Security benefits.

Bush spokesman Steve Schmidt said the president secured through Congress
the biggest improvement in senior health care since Medicare was
established. He said Mr. Kerry's "scare tactics aren't going to earn him
the trust of America's seniors."

Seniors are one of the most closely divided group of voters in
presidential politics. Democrat Al Gore had a slight edge among voters
over age 65 in 2000 -- 50% to Mr. Bush's 47%.

Nevada attracts a large number of retirees with its lower taxes and dry
climate, and Mr. Kerry was speaking to seniors in one of the state's
fastest growing cities.

Polls show Messrs. Bush and Kerry running an almost even race for the
five electoral votes up for grabs in Nevada. Mr. Bush, who won the state
in 2000, planned to make his third trip to Nevada Thursday. It also was
Mr. Kerry's third trip.

Mr. Kerry was joined by his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, who said the U.S.
doesn't do enough to encourage preventive care, treat mental health or
research women's unique health needs. She elicited chuckles from the
crowd and her husband when she described the differences between women,
who are driven by estrogen to "tend and mend," and men, who she said are
driven by testosterone to "fight or flight."

"They go and watch a football game, the lady wants to talk," Ms. Heinz
Kerry said. "If you look at these problems as just life, we can fix
them. Somehow we've been lucky enough to survive it, but we haven't done
a great job of defining it."

/Copyright =A9 2004 Associated Press/

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