House, Senate Reach Deal on U.S.-Made Drug Imports

House and Senate GOP negotiators reached agreement Wednesday on a politically sensitive plan to make it easier to import U.S.-made drugs from other countries where they are sold at low prices.

Republican leaders concerned that the Democrats are making political hay with their call for a new prescription benefit for seniors are eagerly promoting their drug re-importation proposal as a short-term alternative. The issue is especially important in border states including Montana, Minnesota, Michigan and Washington, where incumbent Republicans face tough challenges.

House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) said the agreement would permit pharmacists and wholesalers to buy U.S. brand medicines in Canada and other countries that cap the price of drugs and then resell them cheaply to American consumers. Currently, only U.S. drug manufacturers are allowed to re-import their drugs in bulk.

The drug re-importation plan is just one of several important subjects being discussed as part of negotiations over a nearly $80-billion agriculture bill that has been loaded up with election-year emergency spending for farmers. Lawmakers also are trying to fashion a relaxation of the 40-year-old sanctions against U.S. food sales to Cuba.

Late Wednesday, Clinton administration officials who had been working closely with the leadership in drafting the drug compromise complained they had been cut out of the last-minute decision-making.

“This has been a very disappointing outcome of a process we had high hopes for,” said Christopher Jennings, the chief White House health care advisor, who hasn’t seen the final language.