Americans are pushing for an importation bill that would allow them to import cheaper medications from neighboring countries like Canada. According to a Dow Jones International News article by John Godfrey;

U.S. lawmakers from across the political spectrum vowed
Wednesday to reverse a federal ban on the reimportation of prescription drugs
into the U.S.
Driving the debate is the fact that pharmaceuticals manufactured in U.S.
plants, or in U.S.-owned plants overseas, can be purchased for a fraction of the
cost outside the U.S.

This response is such a backward approach to the problem of high cost medicines in the U.S. why won't anyone call reimportation what it really is? It is just a way for politicians to backdoor in price controls without coming right out and calling them price controls. By allowing Americans to import medicines from countries that force price controls on pharmaceutical companies under the threat of not recognizing patents otherwise, the government will just stifle innovation in the U.S. This is a problem that will not be immediately noticeable to most Americans, it is our children who will truly pay the price. They are the ones that will not see any new developed drugs to help with future medical conditions because the U.S. will have taken away the incentive to develop new medications.

Like it or not, the U.S. is a capitalist society. The rules of supply and demand apply, if people are fed up with subsidizing R&D costs of medications, they should complain to their representatives to ensure fair trade agreements are in place so other countries pay their fair share. Otherwise, they are welcome to stop purchasing the drugs, especially the lifestyle drugs where cost is most often complained about. There is an alternative to taking Lipitor or Crestor to lower your cholesterol, try eating healthier and exercising! Where in the constitution does it guarantee the right to have access to cheap medications to fix all of our problems?