Editorial: Cutting off Canadian drugs

Friday, March 3, 2006 | 7:45 a.m.

As enrollment remains sluggish for the federal government's new prescription drug plan for seniors, U.S. Customs agents have stepped up confiscations of the cheaper drugs that many Americans import from Canada.

According to the St. Petersburg Times, such drug imports are against federal laws, although many municipalities, counties and states - including Nevada - contend the law has a loophole that allows individuals to acquire them in small amounts. As a result, many state and local governments have enacted, or are considering, programs through which residents may obtain Canadian drugs. Nevada State Board of Pharmacy members on Wednesday approved regulations that, if approved by the Legislative Commission in April as expected, will allow Nevadans to obtain Canadian medicines with state assistance.

U.S. Customs agents have ignored these imports by individuals for years. But they began cracking down in January, intercepting and confiscating mail-order Canadian drugs en route to U.S. citizens.

The timing of this federal enforcement epiphany is suspicious. The crackdown started shortly after the Jan. 1 start of Medicare Part D, the government's new prescription drug program, the Times reports.

The confusing, complicated plan has been plagued by management and technical problems, such as pharmacists refusing to fill prescriptions or overcharging for drugs because they can't confirm coverage. And only a fraction of the 42 million elderly or disabled people eligible for one of the numerous Plan D programs have waded through the paperwork and signed up. Participation falls far short of federal expectations for the enrollment period that ends in May, the Times reports.

Some Republicans and Democrats in Congress have called for an inquiry into what Customs officials characterize as a coincidence. In a letter to the Homeland Security Department, Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said the aggressive enforcement "raises questions about whether the government is trying to force seniors to enroll in the new Medicare drug program."

There seems to be little question that in its ever-myopic view and agonizing belief in its own rhetoric the Bush administration is unable to see that this new drug program doesn't work. Or, as one 78-year-old Florida resident succinctly summarized to the Times, "Idiots."