Tweet
The CBO says that drug reimportation would save the government $19 billion dollars, and the public $100 billion dollars. In reality, however, Jon Walker estimates it could be more like $400-$500 billion, if the reimported drugs pressure the price of US drugs down.
Sounds like a good thing, right? Except Harry Reid uses his control over procedure to do what Harry Reid wants to do. (Tell that fish story about “60 votes” and Joe Lieberman being the block to anything to someone else.) And what he wants to do is block Dorgan’s drug reimportation bill, and protect Obama’s PhRMA deal.
In another example from today’s public Senate session, of some of the secret Party/presidential manipulations (in lieu of public, democratic legislating) that have now slipped out into the open, and await decoding and deciphering [as posted in a comment to mikesong's Obama-character-witness Seminal diary about the once-secret PhRMA deal]:
The Dorgan amendment (the drug re-importation amendment, which has 30 co-sponsors, including Snowe and McCain) was called up for floor debate by Dorgan (as instructed by his Party leader) on Tuesday evening. It is now Thursday evening, two days later, and the Senate has adjourned for the night (as of shortly after 8 p.m.), without yet taking a vote on Dorgan’s amendment (though Dorgan was openly expecting one sometime yesterday afternoon), and after moving off the health care bill to debate (and, three hours in, see filed a cloture motion to end that debate two days hence, unless waived by UC) a motion to proceed to the multiple-appropriation-bill (trillion-dollar-plus) omnibus conference report just passed by the House.
Though no unanimous consent request to actually vote on the Dorgan amendment has yet been agreed to, one was offered at about 7 p.m. this evening by Harry Reid, after he was publicly pressured on the floor to do so (at least on behalf of the parallel Republican Senator Crapo amendment – formally a motion to commit – that was also called up for debate on Tuesday evening) by Republican leader Mitch McConnell at about 3 p.m. this afternoon.
After being publicly cast as the one stopping the amendment process by McConnell (rather than the other way around, as is the conventional wisdom the Democrats promote at every opportunity), Reid rather-petulantly agreed to try to do some more negotiating behind the scenes with McConnell on amendments later in the afternoon.
Then, at 7 p.m., Harry Reid came to the floor and proposed a UC request for (60-vote-margin) votes on four amendments (only two of which have been under active debate – Dorgan and Crapo). The other two amendments included were a Baucus Sense of the Senate amendment, paired with Crapo’s amendment, and a new, 100-page (Democratic) Senator Lautenberg amendment apparently also dealing with drug re-importation in some manner, to pair with (Democrat) Byron Dorgan’s.
Unanswered Questions: What is this new 100-page Lautenberg amendment (which was provided to the Republicans for review for the first time at 2 p.m. this afternoon), did Lautenberg come up with it on his own, and, most of all, why isn’t Lautenberg working with Dorgan to amend Dorgan’s amendment? Rather than undermining, presumably, the chances of Dorgan’s amendment passing (with 60 votes) by offering – assuming it is – a watered-down, political-cover substitute to Dorgan’s re-importation amendment (as is usually done by Democrats to counter “tough vote” Republican amendments, not Democratic amendments).
Meanwhile, while we try to figure out what this Lautenberg gambit is, Mitch McConnell was willing to agree to proceed to the Crapo and Baucus amendment votes this evening (in response to Reid at 7 p.m.), but could not agree on the Lautenberg/Dorgan pairing, because Republican Senators were taken by surprise, with only one hour’s notice, on the Lautenberg amendment’s lengthy language.
As he shut down the Senate this evening an hour later, Dick Durbin indicated that they hoped to renew their UC Request tomorrow (after Republicans have had a chance to review more carefully the Lautenberg amendment). So votes may in fact be held tomorrow on Dorgan and Lautenberg.
[In case my reading-between-the-lines point is less than clear here, yes, I am surmising, without proof as yet, that the White House is intervening via Lautenberg to save the gist of its PhRMA deal without being caught in the act (so mikesong's position, for example, can still be safely asserted, with plausible deniability), hoping that Democratic arms can be successfully twisted to support Lautenberg's amendment in lieu of supporting, and in order to defeat, Dorgan's...]
Reid is turning the Senate into a quasi-criminal enterprise. His arrogance is astounding.
34 Comments
Support this site!
Subscribe to the newsletter
Advertise on Firedoglake
Send
us your tips
Make us your homepage
About FDL Action
Harry’s got to go.
Jane – sorry to stray off your main topic but I think it’s so important that the masses read these 3 articles on the present health care fiasco.
http://pnhp.org/news/2009/december/here-come-the-apologists
http://pnhp.org/news/2009/december/%E2%80%98medicare-buy-in%E2%80%99-called-a-subsidy-to-private-insurers
http://pnhp.org/blog/2009/07/20/bait-and-switch-how-the-%E2%80%9Cpublic-option%E2%80%9D-was-sold/
interesting that it’s been both NJ senators to do this week’s ol WH buck and wing – (along with FDA Comm Hamburg)hmmmm no one’s heard from Lautenberg since the Oil Company CEO’s testified
Two minor corrections to/elaborations on my recap above, for the record, and to avoid unnecessary confusion about confusing Senate procedures:
1. The new 100-page Lautenberg drug re-importation amendment was first provided to the Republican leader for review at 6 p.m. Thursday evening (according to Mitch McConnell), not 2 p.m., or just one hour before Harry Reid propounded his Unanimous Consent Request for a vote on the (mystery) amendment. [Note that, like Bob Menendez, Chairman of the DSCC, who has publicly come out in opposition to the Dorgan amendment, Frank Lautenberg is a Democratic Senator representing New Jersey - as I see, on edit, that the very insightful and on-the-ball cbl2 has already pointed out here.]
2. Because the multiple-appropriation-bill omnibus is a conference report, the rules provide for a non-debatable motion to proceed. Thus, rather than a cloture motion to end debate on the motion to proceed, as I mistakenly indicated, at 7 p.m. Reid must have been filing a cloture motion to end formal debate on the actual conference report itself. Such a motion has to lie over one calendar day, so it can’t be voted on tomorrow, but could be Saturday (Durbin indicated that there might be votes Saturday morning). So apparently Reid got unanimous consent to adopt the motion to proceed itself at 3 p.m., following which he filed a cloture motion at 7 p.m. (which is four formal hours of debate, pre-cloture-motion-filing, on a trillion dollars of spending – not three hours, as I said). Durbin also indicated as he closed the Senate this evening that votes on a couple of budget points of order (against the conference report) are expected tomorrow, and, if they occur, 60 votes (by actual rule, not convenient cover) will be needed to waive the points of order.
Hi. In my local paper: “Obama raises safety concerns over drug-import plan”
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2010468080_healthdrug10.html
Harry got the word.
It will be interesting to see what happens because whatever it is, nowadays it will be widely leaked within 15 minutes. I don’t think we can be sure yet what’s true but if Obama and Reid think they’re going to fuck us and people won’t find out they’re out of step.
There is no excuse for this. Well, there are many excuses, but even though I want to, I don’t believe them.
Looking down from Canada… this “concern” is laughable.
Do Mssrs. Obama and Reid have any actual information/evidence showing a single problem with prescription drugs manufactured in Canada?
Brazen. All in plain view.
Do these people believe the ship is going down, and they’re just getting in there for their last bite?
The fact that Medicare is banned by law from being allowed to do what any private-industry entity can do is something to shove in the face of those who argue that “government is naturally inefficient”.
No evidence of actual harm, but part of the deal Obama cut is that the pharmaceutical industry would refrain from running Harry-and-Louise ads 24/7. That’s why we really didn’t start to see anti-HCR ads until October, and then mostly from the Chamber of Commerce and not from Big Pharma groups.
Lautenberg’s term is up in 2014, when he’ll be 90 years old. You’d think he wouldn’t care so much about the Great O Money Machine and reelection, and think about doing something good for the people in his remaining years. But I guess that would be the wrong way to think.
Seems even the best of them don’t do much of import after they hit 70. Just takin’ up space.
Or old habits die hard.
I read somewhere a while back (might have been all propaganda) that drug makers accepted the lower limits that Canada and European countries negotiated because they could still make a profit on the drugs sold, so long as the higher costs Americans paid were factored in.
For example it takes 10 cents to make pill A, and they sell it to Canada for 20 cents and still make a profit, so long as they can sell it to Americans for $2 to cover development and marketing and obscene bonuses.
What happens if we start re-importing drugs, will they go up for everyone but Americans?
I’m shocked! shocked! Corruption in high places–well I never
What to do? What to do? Primary the bastards. You think that will work?
Drug importation ought to be killed. It’s a Rube Goldberg device to get around the fact that Americans are paying through the nose to finance advertising of snake-oil by our snake-oil pharmaceuticals. There is an easier and more direct response to this problem: regulate other otherwise control drug prices through a Public Option so that Americans can get their drugs at something like what people in civilized countries pay for them.
Drug pricing is so arcane that it’s hard to tell what would happen if the U.S. paid the lower prices that the rest of the world pays. Your suggestion is one possible outcome, and I suspect phrma will try that route. But it’s also possible that some of the lower prices will come out of profits. Phrma’s a cartel, and the only ways to counter cartels are either price regulations, or a cartel of purchasers on the other side.
New post up top…
Keep on keeping on, Jane. Expose them, talk about it talk about it talk about it talk about it.
You are speaking for me, and I thank you.
eCAHNomics, in your judgment, are current drug cartel practices actionable under the Sherman Act? Not that I expect any of our congress-scum to take up that cudgel.
Right. American citizens are being asked to pay a few times the price paid by the rest of the world allegedly because that’s the only possible way to fund drug research. It would all cease, if this burden were distributed equitably around the world. (Note that even Swiss manufacturers can’t get Switzerland to kick in their fair share on the research front. How strange.)
The corporate-turd convocation; humming along nicely…with periodic oilings from Preznint Obama.
What an engineering marvel!
These men gave their word, their sacred word of honor, Obama to PhRMA, Reid to Obama. Their WORD! And you don’t respect that? These are honorable men. I’m sure, and you are too, that Obama also gave Reid his word that he will go to Nevada to help Reid’s re-election. And, more, if Reid is defeated, I’m sure Obama promised him a position as a National Security Adviser, probably in a new office in charge of dealing with blog nuisances.
With friends like these who needs any kind of enemies. A combination of fascists, communists, and the mafia couldn’t demean democracy any more than these lowlife slimes. Up the revolution.
There ya go………….;-)
EXAMPLE: One months supply of XOPENEX used four times daily via nebulizer. Retail price. $629.79. How that price can be justified is beyond belief. I am fortunate to have a drug plan to help pay for this due to the fact I’m on Medicare. Younger people who need this drug are being taken to the cleaners by these costs. In my mind, this is close to being criminal. Hopefully, I’ll live long enough to help Jane throw the bums out. I can’t do much financally but I can raise hell by phone calls and e-mail. I need to do this for my children and grand children.
Why not order your pharmaceuticals directly from Canada? I have a relative who had a full hysterectomy, who’s husband lost his job and insurance immediately after her surgery. She was suffering from hot flashes etc., but could not afford the $120 a month for Premarin. I found it online from a Canadian pharmacy for $38 for 84 days delivered. That’s a staggering difference.
To jfoster, if you’re still watching this thread, here is a price schedule for XOPENEX.
http://www.canadapharmacy.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product/product_id/5472.htm
Of course that works for the well-informed, those with good personal/social networks (such as you’ve described), and for the savvy (like yourself); but it’s a very small number. Most people need public or social programs to be in place, or they need enough money. Yet hopefully your comment will benefit plenty of people simply because you made the effort.
Thanks, Pamel. My god. $522.00 difference. Thanks again. I will spread this link around.
I’ve been lucky to have good health and pharma coverage throughout my life, although we are now on COBRA after my husband lost his job.
I became aware of the online Canadian pharmacies when my hairdresser’s active and healthy husband felt unwell one evening, and proceeded to code three times in the ER. (luckily she got him there on time) He can no longer work, plus he needs several expensive medications. I was amazed to find out how enormous the difference in price is between the two countries.
The interesting thing is, neither her physician, or my relative’s physician ever mentioned the Canadian alternative, even though they knew their patients had financial hardships. I wonder why?
If you google Canadian pharmacy you will get a bunch of different links, and can compare prices. I’m happy to help, and after years of lurking I’ve made my first comment!
And I’m glad you did! No more lurking, jump in.
No that’s not correct as I understand it.
The Drug companies accepted lower prices in exchange for patents, (which are the antithesis of competition) and some patent extensions.
Just like they have in every one of the western Industrialized nations, except the USA.
I checked about a year or two ago, Canadian prices are in the middle, lowest was Italy.
The USA does the exact opposite of what every other industrialized nation does as far as drug price negotiations for its citizens is concerned.
they are sucking the life out of you guys.
Yes, the Senate in fact immediately adopted Reid’s (non-debatable) motion to proceed to the omnibus multiple-appropriation bill conference report Thursday. They didn’t do it by unanimous consent, though, as I surmised, but rather by roll-call vote (which I saw the beginning of, in fact, but forgot about), by which it passed 56-43. So Thursday’s filed cloture motion was indeed on ending debate on the conference report itself, and that cloture motion vote is in order after the Senate reconvenes on Saturday morning.
Also, I inadvertently exaggerated the amount of spending in that appropriation-bill conference report. It’s not a trillion dollars of spending, but half that: just under $500 Billion, or half-a-trillion of spending for the (current) federal fiscal year, spread among 6 or 7 agencies.
The Lautenberg amendment (which is actually the “Pharmaceutical Market Access and Drug Safety Act of 2009,” apparently originally authored or sponsored by Senator Cochran of Mississippi) is Senate Amendment 3156 offered on the Senate health care legislation.