Byron Dorgan: “Some say, when you talk of prescription drug prices, let the market decide. There is, after all, an open, free market…”

“Some say, when you talk of prescription drug prices, let the market decide. There is, after all, an open, free market; let the market decide. Is it not the case that there is no free market for prescription drugs in this country? There are price controls in the United States but the prices are controlled by the pharmaceutical industry, and they like that. I understand that. Most other countries have price controls in which the governing authority sets the price, including profit, and the drug manufactures market those drugs in those countries under those conditions. In this country, there are no such limitations. So in this country, you can charge whatever you like. The problem is, what if you charge too much for tamoxifen? What if you charge 10 times more than you should for tamoxifen, and they can actually buy it for one-tenth the price in Winnipeg, Canada? What prevents the consumer from voting with their feet and going to Canada? What prevents it is a perversion of the free market, and that is a law that says the pharmacist at the Main Street drugstore, the distributor cannot access drugs and bring them back. There is a law that creates an artificial barrier against the free market working. When we try to change that, people say they are worried about bioterrorism, poppy seeds in Afghanistan, or they are worried the Moon is made of blue cheese--the most Byzantine arguments I have heard since I have been in the Senate.”