`[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 185 (Wednesday, December 10, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10862-S10875]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           GENERIC MEDICINES

  Ms. STABENOW. Madam President, I rise today to bring to my 
colleagues' attention a recent article in the respected Journal of 
American Medicine on generic medicines. The article comes at a critical 
time as we begin to tackle the important issue of health care reform.
  There is no doubt that health care reform must include offering 
solutions that reduce skyrocketing health care costs. One solution to 
reducing costs is to increase access to generic medicines, which offer 
savings of up to 80 percent over brand drug costs.
  The new JAMA article provides specific evidence on the benefits of 
generic medicines. The analysis, which included U.S. scientists 
reviewing more than 20 years of research on generic versus brand name 
drugs, found that there is no clinical evidence showing that brand name 
cardiovascular drugs were superior to their generic versions. Moreover, 
the lead author of the report noted that generics can lead to better 
outcomes because they cost less, which means patients can afford to 
take them and stay on them.
  As our economy continues to struggle, Americans across the country 
are looking for ways to make ends meet. We hear too often about older 
Americans rationing their medicines and even mothers watering down 
infant formula to make it last longer, not knowing of the dangerous 
health impact this can have. A recent survey conducted by BearingPoint, 
Inc., and Zogby found that an alarming number of consumers admitted 
that they would consider denying themselves or their children health 
care to save money during this difficult economic time.
  As we consider the critical and interrelated issues regarding the 
economic crisis and reform of national health care, the new JAMA study 
supports every effort we can make now to increase the use of generic 
medicines. We should remove the numerous barriers to getting generic 
medicines to consumers sooner rather than later, and we must prevent 
the creation of new barriers that will impede greater use of generics. 
We also should consider how to create a workable pathway for 
biogenerics, a pathway that actually gets these safe and affordable 
lifesaving medicines to patients in a timely manner.
  Generic medicines save consumers and State and Federal governments 
billions of dollars annually. At the same time, generic medicines are 
FDA approved, guaranteeing their safety and effectiveness.
  When the new Congress tackles the important health care initiatives 
that lie ahead, the safety and effectiveness of prescription drugs must 
remain a top priority. As the medical evidence concludes, Congress can 
have confidence in the fact that increasing access to generic medicines 
will provide high-quality care at significant cost savings for 
consumers and the government.
  I ask unanimous consent to have the article to which I referred 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

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