Today in, "Big Fucking Deals"

While I am unimpressed with Joe Biden's mindlessly bellicose foreign policy, on domestic issues, things like labor rights, antitrust, and consumer and worker protections, I would argue that he is the best President on these issues since ……… Checks notes ……… Richard Milhaus Nixon. (Nixon created the EPA, OSHA, COLAs for Social Security, empowered the EEOC, etc.)

Well now, the Biden FDA has approved mass imports of cheaper drugs from Canada for the first time.

Not only that, they approved this for Florida, which means that much in the way of the political benefits will accrue to Ron DeSantis.

This might not be good politics, but it's good policy, and I approve of this choice:

The Food and Drug Administration has allowed Florida to import millions of dollars worth of medications from Canada at far lower prices than in the United States, overriding fierce decades-long objections from the pharmaceutical industry.

The approval, issued in a letter to Florida Friday, is a major policy shift for the United States, and supporters hope it will be a significant step forward in the long and largely unsuccessful effort to rein in drug prices. Individuals in the United States are allowed to buy directly from Canadian pharmacies, but states have long wanted to be able to purchase medicines in bulk for their Medicaid programs, government clinics and prisons from Canadian wholesalers.

Florida has estimated that it could save up to $150 million in its first year of the program, importing medicines that treat H.I.V., AIDS, diabetes, hepatitis C and psychiatric conditions. Other states have applied to the F.D.A. to set up similar programs.

But significant hurdles remain. Some drug manufacturers have agreements with Canadian wholesalers not to export their medicines, and the Canadian government has already taken steps to block the export of prescription drugs that are in short supply.

………

Congress passed a law allowing drug importation two decades ago, but federal health officials delayed implementing it for years, citing safety concerns, one of the main arguments drug companies have used against it. In 2020, President Donald J. Trump pushed the law forward, announcing that states could submit importation proposals to the F.D.A. for review and authorization. President Biden added momentum the following year, instructing federal officials to keep working with states on importation plans.

Florida applied and later sued the F.D.A., accusing the agency of what Gov. Ron DeSantis called a “reckless delay” in approving the request. Friday’s announcement grew out of that lawsuit; a federal judge had set a Jan. 5 deadline for the F.D.A. to act on the state’s application.

………

Eight other states — Colorado, Maine, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Texas, Vermont and Wisconsin — have laws allowing for a state drug importation program, and many are seeking, or planning to seek, F.D.A. approval.

This is a win for patients and for state Medicare and Medicaid programs, and ultimately the taxpayers.

Of course, it's a lose for big Pharma, but fuck that.

 

^*Yes, I am quoting then Vice President Joe Biden.