Senator Byron Dorgan’s common sense amendment

I support health care reform in theory, but I think Democrats are going about it the wrong way. There are many low cost solutions that could be used to bring down costs. One such solution was suggested in an amendment to the Senate health care bill by Senator Byron Dorgan. The amendment would allow Americans to purchase prescriptions drugs from foreign countries in order to save money, since Americans tend to pay more for their medication.

The amendment is supported by several senators and has bipartisan support. Unfortunately, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg feels “there are significant safety concerns” if the amendment were to pass. I would love to have the Commissioner go into more detail about these safety concerns, and what they might be. I wouldn’t want medication imported from Iran or Yemen, but I’m fine with medication imported from Canada. If medication is shipped to my state from Maine, then what’s the big deal if it travels a few miles farther? Are we anticipating the Canadians trying to kill us? Is it in anyway related to U.S. teams winning too many Stanley Cups?

Senator Dorgan’s amendment, and ideas like it, are the way to go. They would likely bring down health care costs by using common sense approaches, rather than creating a massive bureaucracy. Now, all we need to do is hope more similar ideas are included.