President Obama/Drug Industry win fight against importing cheaper prescription drugs from Canada

[Better Believe It]

President Obama writes a new health reform prescription
By Dana Milbank
December 16, 2009

On the campaign trail, Barack Obama vowed to take on the drug industry by allowing Americans to import cheaper prescription medicine. "We'll tell the pharmaceutical companies 'thanks, but no, thanks' for the overpriced drugs -- drugs that cost twice as much here as they do in Europe and Canada," he said back then.

On Tuesday, the matter came to the Senate floor -- and President Obama forgot the "no, thanks" part. Siding with the pharmaceutical lobby, the administration successfully fought against the very idea Obama had championed.

"It's got to be a little awkward," said Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.).

It's even more awkward for millions of Americans who are forced to pay up to 10 times the prices Canadians and Europeans pay for identical medication, often produced in the same facilities by the same manufacturers, simply because the U.S. government refuses to rein in drug prices.

Those favoring cheaper prescriptions amassed an impressive ideological coalition, from socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to conservative Sen. David Vitter (R-La.). But they were no match for industry-friendly senators backed by the administration, who on Tuesday night easily voted down "reimportation," as it is called.

The drug-money addiction could explain why the administration struck a sweetheart deal with the industry, which offered to give up $80 billion in revenue in exchange for an understanding that the government would not push for deeper concessions. The White House was determined not to go back on the deal -- even though the industry had demonstrated bad faith by raising prescription prices nearly 10 percent this year. So when Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) brought his reimportation proposal to the floor, the administration pushed back with a letter from Food and Drug Administration chief Margaret Hamburg warning of "significant safety concerns."

These arguments don't hold up well, considering that 40 percent of the active ingredients in American prescription drugs come from India and China, and that the latter slipped tainted heparin past the FDA. But fright was about the best argument opponents could use to defeat a popular proposal that would save the federal government $19 billion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Consumers would save many times that.

Read the full article at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/15/AR2009121504196.html

[emilyg]

1. Let's just keep

importing all the safe Chineese crap.

[Better Believe It]

6. They use Chinese ingredients in "American made" prescription drugs .....

but the Obama administration successfully fought against a proposal to import safe Canadian and European made drugs!


-------------------------------------------

One after the other, the drug industry's friends from pharmaceutical-manufacturing states New Jersey, Delaware and North Carolina went to the floor Tuesday to cite the FDA letter.

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-Bristol-Myers Squibb) warned that "you may have a heart attack" because of counterfeit medicine from abroad.

"This is a matter of life or death," agreed Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-Merck).

Carper (D-AstraZeneca) cited "remaining safety and soundness and health concerns," while Sen. Kay Hagan (D-GlaxoSmithKline) voiced "serious doubts that we can adequately ensure the safety of the drug supply."

These arguments don't hold up well, considering that 40 percent of the active ingredients in American prescription drugs come from India and China, and that the latter slipped tainted heparin past the FDA. But fright was about the best argument opponents could use to defeat a popular proposal that would save the federal government $19 billion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Consumers would save many times that.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/15/AR2009121504196.html

[polichick]

2. Obama's sell-out is inexplicable to me. It's obscene how Americans...

...are robbed by big pharma by way of our own gov't.

[VMI Dem]

3. More chess.

[emilyg]

8. More like tumbling dominoes.

[Lilith Velkor]

9. Some of which are landmines.

[BlueIdaho]

4. That's some bargain the President struck with big Pharma huh?

Are you sure he's a Democrat?

[Raster]

5. He's a Democrap. It's the new DLC-corporate version.

[Better Believe It]

7. Samta Claus

[levander]

10. Like Canadian drugs aren't safe...

It's not like Canada is a 3rd world country. Does our government have some kind of secret knowledge the Canadians don't have over what makes a safe drug?

For all DU's who need cheaper drugs, just go to pharmacychecker.com. That's an organization run by people who were formerly executives in the FDA. They're already doing the certifying necessary for foreign drugs. I do it and spend less on drugs before I jacked up my medical insurance deductible and was buying drugs through just the copays!

[Raster]

12. In many cases IT'S THE SAME FUCKING DRUGS!

Drugs produced in the US, exported to Canada where they sell for a much more reasonable price--And that's because the government, which acts as the SINGLE PAYOR--is able to negotiate with the drug companies and obtain the best prices, which, by the way, is current FORBIDDEN BY LAW in the United States. Part of the previous give-away to Big Pharma in the last Medicare debacle was a specific provision AGAINST the US federal government negotiating for better drug prices for Medicare.

[David Zephyr]

11. And Obama campaigned about importing drugs from Canada. He lied.

He lied.

[Raster]

13. Yes. He. Did. He's a politician. That's what they do.

OK: Pom-poms at the ready.....

[girl_interrupted]

14. K&R

[QC]

16. But he just looks so damn HOTT when he lies! n/t

[freddie mertz]

15. Obama either lied or sold out. Pick your poison.

Either way, the American people have been the victims.