US Senate votes against import of lower priced Rx drugs

The US Senate yesterday rejected an amendment to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that would help make prescription drugs more affordable by allowing for the importation of lower priced drugs from abroad. The bipartisan amendment was sponsored by Senators Byron Dorgan (Democrat, North Dakota), Olympia Snowe (Republican, Maine), John McCain (Republican, Arizona) and others.

The amendment to the health overhaul legislation, offered by Sen Dorgan sought to create a process for the importation of Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs from Canada, European countries, New Zealand, Australia and Japan. 51 senators voted in favor of the amendment and 48 against, but this required a 60-vote threshold for approval.

The amendment was strongly opposed by the pharmaceutical industry, which raised concerns about the safety of bringing in drugs from other countries. Sen Dorgan dismissed those concerns, stating that the USA currently allows the importation of food, toys and other items with only minimal inspection, and that drugs would have to be imported through an agency-approved chain of custody, reported Dow Jones.

An alternative amendment offered by Senator Frank Lautenberg, (Democrat, New Jersey), whose state is the home of many pharmaceutical companies, was also rejected. 56 voted for this and 43 against, once more under the 60-vote threshold. This amendment would have allowed the importation of drugs, but only if the Department of Health and Human Services certified that imported drugs would meet safety standards.

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated there could be more than $100 billion in savings to US prescription drug buyers over the next decade if cheaper prescription drugs from abroad were allowed to compete in the US market.

Negative response from Consumer Watchdog and AARP

The failure of the Senate to allow importation of prescription drugs to cut costs, much less the more effective direct bulk purchasing of prescription drugs, 'is just the latest example of how big industry controls the health reform debate,' according Consumer Watchdog.

"The proposed drug amendment by Senator Dorgan was a relatively modest proposal, far from President Obama's campaign pledge to allow Medicare to directly negotiate discounts with drug manufacturers," said Judy Dugan, Consumer Watchdog's research director. "The apparent loss of the public option, and the even more limited Medicare buy-in for those over 55, demonstrates the open and blatant puppeteering of the US Congress health care debate by the insurance and pharmaceutical industries," she stressed.

USA 'should import Canadian and European drug policies, not drugs'

However, the US should be importing Canadian and European drug policy, not their drugs, according to Consumer Watchdog. Drug importation would help some, but to provide all Americans the lower priced drugs they need, the USA must negotiate the discounts itself. Yet, the Senate defeated the drug importation amendment to appease the pharmaceutical manufacturers who charge higher prices for their prescription drugs in the USA than in any other developed country, the lobby group said.

Also expressing disappointment with the Senate vote was the AARP, representing America's seniors and which has supported the amendment. Commenting on the dissenters' decisions, Dick Chevrefils, AARP Pennsylvania State director, stated: 'While we applaud Senator Specter's support for the Dorgan-Snowe importation amendment, we are disappointed that he also effectively voted to block this provision from ever taking effect. The Lautenberg amendment is an unnecessary roadblock that would prevent importation and maintain the status quo of skyrocketing drug prices."

"AARP is also deeply disappointed that Senator Casey voted today for continuing the status quo and against lower prescription drug prices for his constituents," said Mr Chevrefils. "With brand name drug prices rising at alarming rates, we hope he will further review the negative impact on the people of Pennsylvania and reconsider his position," he said, adding that AARP will continue to fight for this amendment and against the unnecessary roadblocks that could prevent its implementation.

Benefit for PhRMA

Sen Dorgan's amendment would have dealt a blow to an agreement reached between the White House, Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, (Democrat, Montana) and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), which had committed $80 billion in fees and discounts over the next decade to help bring down the cost of a health care if the bill was passed.

In a statement after the vote, PhRMA senior vice president Ken Johnson said
the group believes "that if health reform is done in a smart way, prescription drug importation is not necessary because most Americans will finally have health insurance and access to safe and secure prescription medicines."