TPM has a video of Senator “Diaper” David Vitter (R-LA) being asked by a constituent about his support for drug reimportation from Canada. Republicans have spent many months describing Canada as a socialist hellhole, so why would Vitter support using the lower prices that Canada’s system is able to negotiate from pharmaceutical companies? Vitter’s answer? – He supports it because it will destroy Canada’s system.
Vitter: (reading back a question) ‘If socialized medicine is such a bad idea, why do you propose we import medicine from a country that has a socialized health care system?’ I guess you’re talking about Canada, and similar places, Conrad?
Questioner: Correct.
Vitter: Well, good question, Conrad. I’m for re-importation not because I wanna import price controls, which Canada has, you’re right. It’s because I believe re-importation will cause the pricing system world-wide that the big drug companies exploit to collapse. Right now the big drug companies are able to charge very different prices in different countries, and of course we pay the highest price of all. If they did that, like they do now, but then we can write off to Canada, and pass certain safety provisions, and get drugs from there – guess what? That system implodes. That system can’t survive. So my ultimate goal, in terms of re-importation, is causing that system to collapse, so there’s a true, world-wide price for a drug. And that might – wouldn’t might – that would increase the cost in Canada, that would dramatically decrease the cost in the US. So that’s where I’m coming from. You want to follow up on that?
Questioner: Okay, um – so Canada, their health care system, they’re doing something right, I guess? So are we taking a page from their book?
Vitter: No, I don’t – again, I don’t support price controls, but I actually think re-importation would cause that system, as well as these varying prices, to collapse. That make sense?
I think he’s right in a way. The U.S. is subsidizing the rest of the world. That means we’re paying higher prices because of our f’ed up health care system. The drug companies can get away with screwing us. If we did go to a more universal system (and allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices) our prices would go down and Canada’s would probably go up a bit. However, importing drugs from Canada won’t do that. The most likely scenario is that Canada would impose limits on how many drugs can be exported.
Well, I don’t think Vitter is being honest about his reasoning anyway. Republicans have painted themselves into a corner in this health care debate, so I think this is just a way to try to justify his hypocrisy. Anyway, Vitter is up for re-election in 2010. I think this will be one of the more interesting races. He’s got a credible Democratic challenger in Rep. Charlie Melancon, he’s got a porn star challenger in the Republican primary and will possibly get a challenger from the right from a third party.