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Congress OKs Drug Shopping Trips To Canada
Market Forces May Yet Reduce Cost of Prescription Drugs

 First Wal-Mart offers $4 generic drug prescriptions, now Congress approves cross-border drug purchases in Canada, where prescriptions sell for less.

The race appears to be on to see who can offer consumers the cheapest prescription drugs.

A day after the nation's largest retailer announced its generic drug discounts, the House and Senate reached agreement on legislation allowing U.S. citizens to bring a three-month supply of prescription medication back home with them when they visit Canada.

U.S. consumers have increasingly looked to the north for help in obtaining cheaper prescriptions. In Canada, government price controls on medication means that many sought-after drugs sell for up to 80 percent less than they do in the U.S.

The new legislation, part of a Homeland Security appropriations bill making its way through Congress, would stop U.S. customs agents from their practice of seizing prescription medicines purchased in Canada, as long as the quantity is a 90-day supply or less.

The legislation requires consumers to actually travel to Canada to purchase the drugs. It would still be against the law to order prescriptions from Canadian pharmacies by Internet or mail order.