Senate: You'll Pay More For Prescriptions And You'll Like It!

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In a triumph for the pharmaceutical industry, the Senate on Monday killed a drive to allow consumers to buy prescription drugs from abroad at a significant savings over domestic prices.

On a 49-40 vote, the Senate required the Food and Drug Administration to certify the safety and effectiveness of imported drugs before they can be imported, a requirement that officials have said they cannot meet.

"Well, once again the big drug companies have proved that they are the most powerful and best financed lobby in Washington," said Sen. David Vitter, R-La.

The vote neutralized a second amendment, later passed on a voice vote, that would legalize the importation of prescription drugs manufactured in Canada, Australia, Europe, Japan and New Zealand.

The drug import measure - which was tacked onto legislation for the overhaul of the FDA - could have saved consumers billions of dollars, its sponsors said.

But the pharmaceutical industry has argued that pharmacies risk being flooded with counterfeit drugs. And the White House, which also opposes importation, had threatened a veto of the drug safety bill if it eased restrictions.

That put the Senate's Democratic majority in a bind: Many favor direct drug importation, but the amendment threatened to stymie a reform of the FDA that is considered must-pass legislation.

So some Democrats straddled the issue by voting for both measures.

Washington Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray were among the 15 Democrats to vote in favor of the drug certification measure.

Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., accused the drug industry of wanting to dictate prices to American consumers. "Yes, we have price controls in America," he said. "Not government price controls, but price controls by the pharmaceutical industry."

Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., said the problem of counterfeit drugs was his main concern. "Americans deserve continued access to safe and effective drugs," he said. "Serious problems exist with products from other countries."

Overseas, drugs can cost two-thirds less than they do in the United States, where prices for brand-name drugs are among the highest in the world.

In many industrialized countries, prices are lower because they are either controlled or partially controlled by government regulation.

Similar drug-import legislation is pending in the House.

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