This has got to be one of the dumbest reasons to oppose McCain I've ever heard. How does removing a government fiat ("you can't buy drugs from Canada") equate to "setting drug prices by government fiat"? McCain's stance that pharmaceutical companies are the "bad guys" is dumb, but Will's argument here is so weak that I don't agree with him either. If Canada is dumb enough to have price controls on some drugs, why not take advantage of them?
I dislike McCain - in fact, I find him creepy - but this article makes just about the weakest case against him that I've ever seen.
By allowing the import of drugs at Canada’s prices you are setting the price in the United States at the Canadian’s government mandated ceiling. You are importing their price controls. Does Canada make a lot of drugs? Or do they rely upon the enterprise and creativity of Americans to create and produce the drugs they enjoy?
I think it is a glimpse into the mind of a man that has been in the Senate too long and has not had to make executive (government or private) decisions in a long time. McCain can say crap like that in that Senate when he is 1 of 100. But as President if he wishes to remove the motive for the development of new drugs he is a fool. And in the Senate, especially among the long serving senators, you find lots of fools.
George Will explains it very well, but let me help in case you really don’t want to go read the article.
The reason drugs are cheap in Canada is not because the Canadians can research, create, market, and distribute drugs much cheaper than our own drug companies.
No, it’s because Canada has a socialist system of health care, that gives everybody lower-quality health care. They don’t invent drugs, they buy them from our american companies. But they tell the american companies they MUST sell drugs cheap in Canada.
By allowing the re-importation of drugs, you are essentially allowing Canada to set the price of drugs for the United States.
Because sending drugs from Kansas City to Tornoto and then to Cleveland can only be done for one purpose, to import the price controls imposed by the Canadian government. How else do you think American made drugs just get magically cheaper if they've crossed the Canadian border once or twice.
That's why they debate "reimportation" not importation.