Senate Panel OKs Generic Drug Bill
By: Janelle Carter
NY Times, July 12, 2002
WASHINGTON. A Democratic-led Senate committee
approved a measure to get more generic drugs on the market, aided by
Republicans mindful of an issue expected to figure prominently in this
fall's elections.
Five Republicans all
of whom are up for re-election √ joined Democrats in the Senate
Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee's 16-5 vote approving the
legislation. They were Tim Hutchinson of Arkansas, John Warner of
Virginia, Pat Roberts of Kansas, Susan Collins of Maine and Jeff Sessions
of Alabama.
Lawmakers plan to use the bill on lower-cost generics
as part of a broader attack on the rising cost of prescription drugs, one
piece of a Democratic strategy to appeal to voters frustrated by health
costs. A Medicare prescription drug benefit for senior citizens is another
provision lawmakers want to attach to the bill.
President Bush and House Republicans have been
pushing their own legislation, passed two weeks ago by the House, that
would spend $320 billion over 10 years to provide a prescription drug
benefit for senior citizens. That measure also contains Bush's proposal to
promote private drug discount cards for the elderly but does not contain
the cost-containment measures Senate Democrats are seeking.
Indeed, Bush's health secretary, Tommy Thompson,
issued a report Thursday warning that cost containment efforts could
hinder the development of innovative drugs that could help ailing seniors.
Bush echoed those concerns while appearing in
Minneapolis to raise money for Republican senatorial candidate Norm
Coleman.
"We must make sure that whatever system evolves
does not undermine ... the great strength of the American system, which is
the capacity to be on the cutting edge of new technologies that save
lives," Bush told University of Minnesota teachers and biomedical
experts.
Democrats clearly were relishing Thursday's victory.
"Today's action puts us one step closer to the
goal of lowering the cost of prescription drugs for all Americans,"
said Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., the committee's chairman.
The generic drug bill would amend a 1984 law designed
to speed generic drugs to the market. Lawmakers and consumer advocates
have long contended that drug companies have abused patent laws to prevent
consumers from getting lower-cost generics.
Once a drug patent expires √ typically, 20
years after the drug is invented √ competitors can sell generic
versions. However, if the maker of the brand-name drug files suit to stop
a generic from entering the market, sales of the generic are automatically
delayed for 30 months. Many companies have filed repeated suits to force
continuous delays.
Under the health committee's bill, a pharmaceutical
company would be limited to one 30-month stay for each patent filed on a
brand-name drug within 30 days of its approval by the Food and Drug
Administration. Any patents filed after that period would not be eligible
for the 30-month stay.
Republicans and the pharmaceutical industry
complained about provisions in the bill that allow a generic drug company
to challenge a patent in court.
"This legislation undermines the patent system
that has brought us a cure for polio, four new medicines to combat
Alzheimer's disease, a breakthrough treatment for leukemia and every AIDS
treatment we have now," said Alan Holmer, president of the
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.
Still, while Democrats were able to win Republican
support for the generic drug bill, the fate of the Medicare prescription
drug proposal is far more uncertain.
At least two Medicare proposals are expected to
emerge as amendments on the House floor.
One, offered by Sens. James Jeffords, I-Vt., Charles
Grassley, R-Iowa, and John Breaux, D-La., would have monthly premiums
probably under $30, with a $250 annual deductible. After that, the
beneficiary would pay up to half of the costs until total drug spending
reached $2,000. Once a beneficiary had paid $3,700 out of pocket in any
year, the plan would pay at least 90 percent of all additional
prescriptions.
The plan is estimated to cost between $280 billion
and $320 billion over 10 years and is similar to the measure passed by
House Republicans, aides said.
Another proposal offered by Democratic Sens. Bob
Graham of Florida and Zell Miller of Georgia, which would cost $500
billion over 10 years, would require that beneficiaries pay a $25 monthly
premium, no deductible and a $10 copayment on a generic drug or a $40
copayment on a brand-name drug. That plan includes a $4,000 cap on
out-of-pocket expenditures.
On the Net:
Generic drug bill, S. 812, can be found at http://thomas.loc.gov
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