Senator Mikulski weighing in on drug shortage

Imagine having a potentially deadly disease, and not being able to get the drug that could save your life.

It's a real problem, and lawmakers are trying to fix it fast.

In demand drugs for some deadly diseases are changing hands, but not in the places they should, and that's creating shortages and giant price hikes.

Senator Barbara Mikulski and others want that to stop.

Mikulski along with Congressman Elijah Cummings held a roundtable about the topic today at the University of Maryland Medical Center.

They're trying to deal with a drug shortage problem that's already being investigated.

It's believed some fake pharmacies are buying certain medications, transferring them to wholesale companies they own, and then selling them back at a profit.

It's a problem with real impact, making it tough for cancer patients like Josh Williams to get the drug he needs to beat his disease and live.

Dawn Williams, the mother of a patient dealing with shortage says "the prognosis for this cancer depends on how the tumor shrinks."

"Withholding medicine which hopefully won't happen, in my opinion, it's the death sentence for my son and we shouldn't have to live with that in this country."

During that discussion, Josh Williams says when he gets the drug he needs, he feels bad, wondering who might be going without."

Senator Mikulski is pushing for a bill that would prevent, reduce, and better deal with prescription shortages.