Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

HHS Creates Task Force to Study Drug Importation

By ALM Staff | Law Journal Newsletters |
April 02, 2004

Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced on Feb. 26 that a task force had been created to advise and assist HHS in determining whether and how drug importation into the United States could be conducted safely. The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) directed the HHS to lead a comprehensive study to be completed by December 2004, gauging both the positive and negative effects that can be expected on the health of American patients, on medical costs and on the development of new medicines if pharmaceutical products are imported into the United States from countries with lower drug prices.

In the MMA, Congress directed HHS to address, among other things, the current limitations on the ability to certify the safety of imported drugs, the vulnerabilities in pharmaceutical distribution chains that could compromise safety, the availability of anti-counterfeiting technologies and their costs, and the willingness of foreign countries to help ensure the drugs shipped to the United States are safe, genuine and meet FDA standards.

Read These Next
New York's Latest Cybersecurity Commitment Image

On Aug. 9, 2023, Gov. Kathy Hochul introduced New York's inaugural comprehensive cybersecurity strategy. In sum, the plan aims to update government networks, bolster county-level digital defenses, and regulate critical infrastructure.

Law Firms are Reducing Redundant Real Estate by Bringing Support Services Back to the Office Image

A trend analysis of the benefits and challenges of bringing back administrative, word processing and billing services to law offices.

Bit Parts Image

Summary Judgment Denied Defendant in Declaratory Action by Producer of To Kill a Mockingbird Broadway Play Seeking Amateur Theatrical Rights

The Bankruptcy Hotline Image

Recent cases of importance to your practice.

Risks of “Baseball Arbitration” in Resolving Real Estate Disputes Image

“Baseball arbitration” refers to the process used in Major League Baseball in which if an eligible player's representative and the club ownership cannot reach a compensation agreement through negotiation, each party enters a final submission and during a formal hearing each side — player and management — presents its case and then the designated panel of arbitrators chooses one of the salary bids with no other result being allowed. This method has become increasingly popular even beyond the sport of baseball.