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Protect our prescription medicineDate: 02 August 2004
Union members across Australia are being called on to urgently e-mail Labor Party politicians to get them to recognise that the proposed free trade deal with America is a bad deal. Send an e-mail today to two key Labor Leaders, Mark Latham and Senator John Faulkner, telling them you want Labor to vote against the Free Trade Agreement as it now stands. Use the form letter on our website to send your views You can amend the letter if you want.
Pharmaceutical scheme will be gutted" Our union is particularly concerned that one of the best pharmaceutical benefit schemes in the world which delivers cheap quality medicine will be gutted by this scheme," Jeff Lawrence, LHMU National Secretary said." Low-wage workers who are already struggling under this Government will see their living conditions go backwards if the Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme (PBS) is tied up in knots by American drug companies who hate the PBS. " Soon after the Australia-USA Free Trade Agreement was announced the influential The New York Times ran an article saying that the big drug companies had the PBS in their sights, because it was a model of an effective scheme delivering inexpensive medicine.
American medicines cost 30% more" In the USA medicines cost up to 30% more than what we pay here," Jeff Lawrence said.The New York Times article on July 12 was headlined Trade Agreement May Undercut Importing of Inexpensive Drugs. The New York paper warned readers that the US Congress is poised to approve an international trade agreement with Australia that could have the effect of thwarting a goal pursued by many American lawmakers of both parties: the importing of inexpensive prescription drugs to help millions of Americans without health care.
Australia's scheme a model for America to follow" American drug companies are worried that Australia's PBS scheme could be introduced in the USA." They have watched influential US lawmakers pointing to Australia's model as fantastic cost-effective scheme. " If the US drug companies can strangle our scheme they may be able to head off the introduction of a similar scheme in America," Jeff Lawrence said.
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© 1997-2002 LaborNET is a resource for the labour movement provided by the Labor Council of NSW 10th Floor, 377-383 Sussex Street, Sydney NSW 2000 Ph: (02) 9264 1691 Fax: (02) 9261 3505 http://www.labor.net.au/news/1091422117_25258.html Last Modified: Tuesday, 15-Nov-2005 18:35:57 EST
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