In an attempt to make at least one aspect of health care affordable, Midwest governors of both parties are devising plans to buy prescription drugs from Canada.

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty are working on schemes to buy medication from our northern neighbor despite the fact that prescription drugs continue to be the only legal goods that are prohibited from importation by federal law.

Maverick New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants city employees and hospitals to have the option of buying Canadian prescriptions, an alternative that would save his city more than an estimated $108 million.

“The rising costs of prescription drugs [are] draining our city’s coffers and bankrupting our senior citizens,” Bloomberg said.

Bloomberg joined Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack this year in encouraging their constituencies to sign Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s online petition for legalizing prescription drug importation.

The agreement reached by the U.S. Congressional Conference Committee over the weekend passes along a Medicare bill that excludes a previously proposed stipulation allowing drug importation. American drug companies have used millions to lobby so that such a provision would never allow U.S. citizens to buy cheap medicine from other countries. However, the four governors are carrying on determinedly, regardless of the current ban, which some interpret as a sign of the inevitability of opening pharmaceutical markets to foreign trade.

American drug manufacturers are not oblivious to the governors’ actions. The New York Times reported Nov. 16 of a top pharmaceutical-industry leader commenting on the situation under the condition of anonymity.

“Eventually we’re going to get rolled on this,” the executive said.

Public demand seems clear at this point: the people want cheaper prescription drugs. But the question remains: how much are they willing to pay?

U.S. drug companies argue their prices for prescription drugs are necessarily more expensive to cover the high cost of developing new drugs. Federal regulation by the Food and Drug Administration assures both incomparable quality and inflated prices for American consumers.

Canada has national health care, and the government brokers discounted deals with manufacturers, but without the nearly airtight assurance of quality the FDA provides U.S. consumers.

American drug companies also spend millions on researching and developing new advancements in drug therapy. This leads to unparalleled advancements in health care for U.S. citizens but can also spur commercialism in the way doctors and patients approve prescriptions.

Often there is little or no difference between brand-name drugs and generic drugs. For example, the drug manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline recently developed an updated version of Paxil, called Paxil CR. Researchers can find no perceivable difference between the two drugs, but if consumers are saturated with advertising for Paxil CR, they might not consider the less expensive alternative.

“Everybody wants to get a bargain,” said David Kreling, professor of pharmacy administration at the University of Wisconsin. “But sometimes what we need is the old, tried-and-true prescription drug.”

Experts say the governors’ ploy of buying up Canadian pharmaceuticals will not be beneficial for very long, as American drug companies will catch on and stop negotiating discounts for international markets. Most say the governors are simply acting in desperation to call attention to a problem they want remedied.