So who is telling the truth here? Is the White House not quite finished yet with selling us out?
Did the White House "shaft" Sen. Dorgan and the vote on Dorgan's amendment last week, to import cheaper drugs? Or does FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg just not know what is going on, as she told Senator Dorgan she knew nothing about such a letter? Is the FDA lying about Sen. Dorgan? There has still been no answer from the White House......despite repeated calls and emails.
We have this president who campaigned for drug importation, but then he made a deal with Big Pharma, which has not been open and tranparent......
We have Senator Byron Dorgan, has introduced legislation that would give Americans access to Food and Drug Administration-approved medicines sold in other major industrialized countries at a fraction of the U.S. price, and who points out that President Obama also co-sponsored the bill when he was in the Senate.
"It’s ironic that President Obama campaigned for drug importation during the election," said Dorgan, noting that Obama’s chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, pushed it hard as an Illinois congressman. Dorgan said he can’t get answers from the administration about what’s going on, though he called the White House and FDA prior to the vote. Last week, he said he heard rumors that the FDA was going to send a letter objecting to drug importation on safety grounds, which he has said is a bogus reason. He said he called FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, who said she knew nothing about such a letter.
He said his timeline shows that a letter, signed by Hamburg questioning the safety of drug imports, was sent 24 hours later to a few senators who opposed importation. That piece of paper became a rallying cry for other senators who voted down Dorgan’s amendment. "I think the letter was prompted, probably drafted somewhere else," like "the White House" Dorgan said. The White House has not responded to repeated calls and emails.
Update: The FDA confirmed late Thursday that Hamburg had talked with Dorgan, and "expressed to him FDA’s concerns over reimportation." Her aide said that no decision had been made at the time on whether to send a letter. The aide said Dorgan’s office was notified about the FDA letter on the day it was sent. The FDA did not say whether the White House or other administration officials were involved.
http://blogs.wsj.com/...
Dorgan’s legislation, called the Pharmaceutical Market Access and Drug Safety Act, would allow American consumers to safely import lower-priced, Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs from other countries. Dorgan said the legislation will bring consumers in North Dakota and across the country immediate relief from the world’s highest prescription medication costs, and will ultimately force the pharmaceutical industry to lower drug prices in the United States.
"The pharmaceutical industry's drug pricing is unfair to U.S. consumers," Dorgan said. "We are charged the highest prices in the world for drugs that same industry sells for a fraction of the price in most other countries. That is unfair and it needs to stop.
http://dorgan.senate.gov/...
This president who campaigned for drug importation, then made a deal with Big Pharma....."Long list of supporters for access to cheaper medicines, but unfortunately, the Obama administration is not, because he already sold out to Big Pharma: "after being reported in the Los Angeles Times, the White House confirmed it has promised Big Pharma that any healthcare legislation will bar the government from using its huge purchasing power to negotiate lower drug prices.
More at:
www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2009/08/10/pharma/+big+pharm&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
Let us not call this health care reform, let us accept that the betrayals of not only Obama but those senators who have sold us out with a senate bill that has " No Public Option, No Medicare Buy-in" White House says give the "Democratic" obstructionists in the senate anything they want.
Which makes this "not health care reform" and then sends their PR talking heads out selling the story of Obama's historic success in health care reform; and insurance corporation's stocks skyrocket to a 50 year high!
We see an absolute bonanza for the drug industry and corporate health insurance stocks soar!