Back in 2007, a freshman senator named Barack Obama signed on to Byron Dorgan's effort to allow importation of prescription drugs into the U.S. Unfortunately, this necessary policy still hasn't been implemented. Now, amidst the larger health care reform fight, Senator Dorgan has an amendment to do just that. Unfortunately, cold water is being thrown on the effort by...Barack Obama, now President.
http://news.yahoo.com/...
The Senate debated the import proposal by Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., on Wednesday as an amendment to Obama's health overhaul legislation. Even before Dorgan introduced it Tuesday evening, the Food and Drug administration sent senators a letter saying the plan would be "logistically challenging" to implement and raises "significant safety concerns."
Dorgan said he was surprised by the letter because Obama co-sponsored Dorgan's proposal in 2007 as a freshman Democratic senator from Illinois. In addition, Dorgan noted, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel sponsored his own version of the bill that same year as a Democratic House member from Illinois.
To be fair, the administration has proposed a whopping $5 million for 2010 for the FDA to develop policies on safe drug importation. People who can't afford their medications right now will surely appreciate that.
During his 2008 presidential campaign, Obama said he supported letting Americans buy imported drugs if they were safe and cheaper than in the U.S. The FDA letter restated that support.
As evidence of Obama's continued backing, Linda Douglass, spokeswoman for the White House Office of Health Reform, cited $5 million he proposed in his 2010 budget for the FDA to develop import policies. She said the agency will continue working on ways "to create a pathway to importing safe and effective drugs."
These safety concerns sound familiar, but I just can't place them. Oh, wait, that's right:
The pharmacists and Bush Administration officials say drug importation is unsafe despite the fact that more than 40 percent of prescription drugs on the world market are produced by FDA approved facilities.
Can I ask something here? Where are the stacks of ghastly stories about poor Canadian citizens dying en masse from tainted prescription drugs? To hear the FDA tell it, Canadians on prescription drugs are as likely to be taking gamma-irradiated rat poison as they are to be taking their needed medications.
What is going on here? $5 million to "develop import policies"? $5 MILLION? You've got to be kidding me. If safety is that big an issue, then spend what it will take to develop the needed policies ASAP. I'm not an expert, but I'm guessing $5 million ain't gonna cut it. Unless, of course, this sentiment has more to do with the opposition than these "safety" concerns:
Should the plan pass, it could threaten the pharmaceutical industry's support for Obama's health overhaul. Drug companies have been a valuable ally for the overhaul, spending tens of millions of dollars on TV ads backing the legislation. They oppose the drug import proposal.