Senate Flinches on Canadian Drug Imports

I spoke too soon on Friday [1], when I heralded a Senate vote denying a filibuster on allowing drug imports from Canada, where costs are lower.

Yesterday, Big Pharma struck back, winning a vote inserting a disingenuous provision [2], only allowing imports if the Secretary of Health and Human Services certifies the imports are safe and will lower costs.

And everyone knows President Bush won't have his secretary do that, no matter what the facts are.

Twenty-one Senators, from both parties, who earlier voted to break the filibuster, also voted for this so-called "poison pill." Why?

Looks like they flinched at the threat of Bush's veto. From the New York Times [3]:

Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, was a pivotal figure. He is the chief author of the bill overhauling the F.D.A. In the past, Mr. Kennedy has voted to allow drug imports, and he is a co-sponsor of a bill to do just that.

But on Monday, Mr. Kennedy voted against [it], and encouraged others to do so, because he feared that it would sink the overall bill granting new powers to the food and drug agency.

The possibility exists the issue could come up again in a stand-alone bill, or as part of another bill. So this battle isn't over.

But so far this year in the Senate, including the filibuster blocking Medicare from negotiating for lower prices, it's Big Pharma 2, Public 0 [4].