Hightower Lowdown

Life is hard enough for Shirley Kindle, a retired worker from East Hartford, Connecticut who suffers from diabetes and other life-threatening ailments, without the added burden of getting mugged on a regular basis.

Ms. Kindle's robbers aren't street thugs, but the profiteers running America's pharmaceutical giants. They've jacked up the price of drugs so outrageously that they threaten the life of Ms. Kindle and millions like her. She receives a monthly Social Security check of $496. But the price of the pills she needs just to stay alive has sky- rocketed to $506 a month.

Can't something be done? Yes, and State Senator Chellie Pingree of Maine has the right idea. She sponsored the Fairer Prescription Drug Prices Act which passed the Maine legislature overwhelmingly. Citizens of Maine have learned that drugs sell for much less just over the border. For example, an ulcer drug that costs $110 for a month's supply in Maine costs only $55 in Canada and $29 in Mexico. Other nations don't tolerate drug-company ripoffs of their citizens, so they negotiate lower prices. The companies stil make a profit ... but not a killing.

Sen. Pingree's bill simply says that drug prices in Maine cannot be higher than in Canada. To learn how your state can follow Maine's lead, call Pingree's office: 207- 287-1515.