Senate Votes to Ease Drug Imports

The Senate voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to make it easier for Americans to import cheaper prescription medications from Canada, a strong reproach to the Bush administration’s recent crackdown on drugs ordered by mail for personal use.

Approved by a 68-32 vote, the measure would prohibit Customs and Border Patrol agents from seizing prescription drugs imported by individuals from Canadian pharmacies by mail or carried over the border.

The Senate proposal, similar to one passed by the House in May, adds to the pressure on drug companies to make U.S. prices more affordable.

Americans -- mostly seniors living on fixed incomes -- spend billions of dollars on mail-order medications for chronic conditions such as high cholesterol and hypertension.

The medications sold by licensed Canadian pharmacies often are identical to those in the U.S. and may even come from the same factory. The big difference is price. Consumers north of the border -- and in most other countries -- typically pay a fraction of what U.S. customers do for brand-name pharmaceuticals.

The Senate measure received broad support from Democrats along with some Republicans, reflecting growing frustration among U.S. consumers, employers, insurers, hospitals and other healthcare providers with prices of brand-name pharmaceuticals.

The measure was introduced by Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), who has called for an investigation of Customs’ seizures of seniors’ mail-order medications, and Sen. David Vitter (R-La.). Vitter said he wanted Congress to send a message that Customs ought to focus on securing the nation against terrorism -- not “stripping small amounts of prescription drugs from the hands of seniors.”

Customs did not respond to requests for comment.

The Bush administration has opposed past calls to ease restrictions on the personal importation of prescription medications, contending that foreign-produced drugs may be unsafe. Some have also contended that controls were needed to prevent terrorists from importing dangerous substances disguised as drugs.

Consumers and consumer advocates hailed the Senate action.

“It’s about time,” Laguna Niguel retiree Samuel Robert Greenberg said of the Senate vote.

Over the last few months, Greenberg and his wife have had three of seven shipments seized -- marring what he described as otherwise “safe and satisfactory” dealings with Canadian pharmacies.

Greenberg decried the seizures, saying they showed that the Bush administration was “putting the well-being of a few large corporations over the well-being of the average citizen.”

Ken Johnson, senior vice president of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a trade group, said the Senate proposal “undermines the government’s ability to assure the American public that our drug supply is safe and secure.”

Some Republican leaders raised similar concerns. Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) said the proposal would rip a “massive hole” in border security efforts.

Other senators said the real issue was economic.

“The will is there to pass drug importation legislation to reduce the burden of skyrocketing drug costs on Americans across the country,” said Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine). “The fact is, we can import prescription drugs in a manner that protects their safety and security for the American people.”

Customs increased seizures of mail-order medications at international mail centers last November, around the time Medicare launched its Part D prescription drug benefit program.

The crackdown triggered an outcry from seniors and their advocates, who complained that in many cases it cost them more to purchase medications through Medicare Part D plans than through Canadian and other foreign pharmacies.

The Canadian mail-order pharmacy industry welcomed the Senate vote.

“Customs did this without any kind of warning, and we felt that they were putting people’s lives in jeopardy,” said Andy Troszak, president of the Canadian International Pharmacy Assn.

“In many cases, our patients were caught without their needed medications.”

The Senate proposal is an amendment to a spending bill for the Homeland Security Department, which oversees Customs. To make it to Bush, the proposal must get through meetings to hash out differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill.

“This is a big step and a huge, loud signal to the administration,” said Dan McLaughlin, an aide to Florida Sen. Nelson. “But there is still a chance for a powerful lobby to scuttle this because of minor wording differences between the two chambers’ proposals.”

The key difference is summed up in two words: “from Canada.” The Senate version would prohibit Customs from interfering in the personal importation of prescription drugs from Canada. The House proposal would have Customs stay out of individual purchases of such medications from anywhere in the world.