Lawmakers Are Negotiating Import of Prescription Drugs

Lawmakers Are Negotiating Import of Prescription Drugs

By ROBERT PEAR

Published: October 31, 2003

[]WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 — House and Senate negotiators say they are seriously discussing proposals to allow imports of less expensive prescription drugs from Canada, as well as a plan to give the Food and Drug Administration more money and more authority to police the market.
The negotiators have worked for more than three months on a bill to revamp Medicare and to add drug benefits to the program. But until this week, they largely avoided the explosive issue of drug imports.
Lawmakers said they discussed it on Wednesday night and again on Thursday at meetings with Tommy G. Thompson, the secretary of health and human services.
"We are considering it," said Representative Michael Bilirakis, Republican of Florida.
Millions of Americans have traveled to Canada and Mexico in search of low-cost medications. Many more have bought drugs from foreign suppliers by mail or the Internet.
The Bush administration and drug industry have opposed bills that would make it easier for pharmacists, wholesalers and individuals to import medicines. They say the legislation, endorsed in different forms earlier this year by the House and the Senate, could expose consumers to a flood of unsafe products.
Neither Mr. Thompson nor the White House signaled a change in the administration's position this week.
But Republican lawmakers and aides to Republican leaders in Congress said they had begun looking for ways to overcome the impasse, perhaps by allowing imports from Canada for a few years, under close federal supervision, to ensure that the drugs meet federal standards.
To address F.D.A. concerns, lawmakers said, they would provide the agency with resources to monitor and regulate the flow of imports. They could also subsidize development of new technology to thwart counterfeiters and to track drugs from the factory to the pharmacy.
Representative Jo Ann Emerson, Republican of Missouri, a supporter of imports, said that Medicare negotiators were "desperate to do something." While she would prefer a bill allowing imports from more countries, Mrs. Emerson said it would be feasible to start with Canada.
Members of Congress refused to discuss their deliberations in detail, so it is impossible to know exactly what they have in mind. But their comments suggested that the debate is shifting from the philosophical question of whether to allow more imports to the practical question of how to do so, in a way that minimizes the risks to public health.
In June, the Senate voted 62 to 28 for drug imports; in July, the House measure was approved 243 to 186. Given those votes, Republicans said, a final Medicare bill would probably need to ease imports in some way.
Of the 12 lawmakers shaping the final version of the Medicare bill, three voted for the proposals to ease drug imports: Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa; Senator Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana; and Representative Nancy L. Johnson, Republican of Connecticut.
Mr. Grassley said his position was long-held, "based on my support for free trade and my belief in maximum competition of the free enterprise system."
"Imports create competition and keep domestic industry more responsive to consumers," he said. "It's a fact of life that many constituents are going to Canada and Mexico. And it's something the American people want. I never have a town meeting where this issue doesn't come up."
Some conferees oppose any move to lift restrictions on drug imports. Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah, called it a bad idea, inspired by "populist politics." Representative Billy Tauzin, Republican of Louisiana, said it would be "a disaster to the health and safety of Americans."
Several Republican negotiators said they shared the drug industry's concerns but believed that its position was shortsighted and politically unsustainable.
Democrats say the risks of imports have been exaggerated by drug companies trying to protect profits. Some conservative House Republicans supported the measure as a way to promote open markets. But other conservatives opposed the bill, saying it would authorize the importation of foreign price controls along with cheap medicines.
Opposition to drug imports comes from political appointees and civil servants responsible for enforcing the nation's drug laws.
Peter J. Pitts, a spokesman for the F.D.A., said, "We have not been formally asked to provide technical assistance on any matters related to importation and are not discussing plans for any kind of compromise."
Another agency official said, "We won't negotiate until the 11th hour."

I find this another instance of congressional lunacy. They will not institute a system of controls similar to Canada. However, by allowing the importation of drugs from Canada at Canadian prices aren't they doing the same thing in surreptitious way.