Pacific Views

McCain Turns On Bush Over Prescriptions

Courtesy of the WaPo, Sen. McCain joins Sen. Dorgan to protest the ban on Canadian imports:

Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.) threatened yesterday to hold up the nomination of Mark McClellan to run the federal Medicare program because they are frustrated by his refusal as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration to permit importation of lower-cost medicines from Canada.

Speaking to governors at a meeting on Capitol Hill, McCain said the pair will stall McClellan's nomination to be administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services "until there's a full and complete explanation of why he will not make prescription drugs from Canada available to Americans." He and congressional allies also intend to use parliamentary maneuvers to force votes in the Senate on the volatile issue, he said. ...

This could shape up to be quite a fight. If the administration loses a nomination battle, or has to make extensive concessions with a Republican controlled House and Senate, it would look pretty bad for Dubya.

Conceding this issue would lose the support of the pharmaceutical industry, and sticking it out loses the support of many seniors. The religious right has grandparents, too, and they probably want Vasotec at bargain basement prices like the rest of us.

Of course, this plays into the globalization issue, also. And I'd almost feel sorry for the pharmaceutical industry if it wasn't that they've 1) spent years ripping off the sickest members of society and 2) worked with all their might to convince Americans that we're going out of our minds and need antidepressants NOW. Unfortunately, when they lose this and the cuts come, it won't be the greedy executives that end up hitting the pavement hoping they can find another job with benefits.