| Vol. I,
No. 1 |
Oct.
20th, 2000 |
Links to Health & Medicine On-Line
This issue's Links to Health & Medicine
On-Line is a little out of the ordinary. ...
Usually, we'll link more specifically to
health sites, whether for traditional or complementary medicine. But with
the prescription drug debates going on, and the elections around the corner,
this time, we thought it might be at least as useful to link to the info
available on-line about prescription drug legislation from our Congressional
reps.
We hope you find the following sites as
informative as we do.
Info on Prescription Drugs at Leahy, Jeffords
& Sanders Web Sites
-
Senator
Leahy's site **1/2 [2 1/2 stars]
The info on Senator Leahy's site was the least useful in this
respect, returning only a list of press releases, transcripts of Internet
Town meetings, and the like in which the search term "prescription
drug" appeared. That made it difficult to get at the info in any
organized or coherent way.
-
Senator
Jeffords' site ***1/2 [3 1/2 stars]
The info on Senator Jeffords' site was better organized, once we
were able to zero in on the info {by clicking Issues, then Health
Issues}. Once there, Senator Jeffords' site provided links to other
info on prescription drug legislation as part of an organized position
statement. He begins his focus by addressing seniors, the group most
affected by the high cost of prescription drugs, then cites the Medicine
Equity and Drug Safety (MEDS) Act of 2000 [S.2520], the bill that would
legalize the import of drugs from Canada, which he introduced with some
colleagues from Minnesota and Maine.
Senator Jeffords' emphasis on seniors is underscored by what follows:
info on a couple of bills he's introduced as interi measures to help seniors
now, since any major overhaul is likely to take some time. The first
is the DrugGap Insurance for Seniors Act [S. 1725], which will provide
insurance coverage for prescription medicines free of charge for low-income
Vermonters who do not get drugs through Medicaid or employer-sponsored
coverage. The Second, is the Pharmaceutical Aid for Seniors Act [S. 1942],
which will give federal support to State Pharmaceutical Assistance Programs,
like Vermont's VScript program.
.
-
Congressman
Sanders' site ***** [5 stars]
As we said, far and away, the best site of all was Bernie's. ...
Right up at the top of the page, Bernie's site listed "Prescription
Drugs," along with "Home Heating Oil" and "Cash Balance
Pensions," as one of the three top issues.
Bernie's staff not only helps with info on pending legislation. They
have also put together a site that recognizes that the issue of Rx drug
coverage and pharmaceutical prices is more complex than drafting the right
legislation. The site contains at least 9 major subsections, including
things like ...
Inside the Drug
Fight
Drug Co. Profits
Drug $$$ in Politics
How Much Drugs Cost
Who Goes to Canada
and more. There is even a section under the heading "Tell Us Your
Story," with an apt filename of soapbox.asp, where you can tell your
story about encounters with the high cost of prescription drugs.
Bernie and staff review the submissions and select some for reading into the
Congressional Record.
As we said, it would probably be unfair to try to draw any
definite connection between the quality of the info on Rx drugs and legislation
at each of these sites and the commitment of the Congressional reps who host
them. But it's hard not to be impressed by the apparent strength of
Bernie's conviction.
*******
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If you know of any links that you think are
worthwhile, why not send them along to ...
links@downstreetmagazine.com
...
If we agree, we'll be happy to include them
in an upcoming issue to pass the word along. ...
Thanks.
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