Pills & Bills: FDA and the Greater Good

Lawmakers voted to give the Food & Drug Administration more power when dealing the with drug companies in the United States. These powers are considered sweeping in nature and have the ability to change the way medicine and medical research is conducted. Under these powers the FDA could force medical companies to change warning labels and to conduct further research.

Senator Edward Kennedy is considered the main broker behind the new bill. According to Senator Kennedy the FDA should be protecting people from harmful drugs. However, as with the Vioxx case which caused increased risks of heart attacks the FDA is failing as a government entity. Thus reform is needed and welcomed.

The bill passed 93-1 in a sweeping legislative act. Even though lawmakers were overwhelmingly happy with the changes it does not mean that many of the food and drug advocates were. Some of the organizations complained that even thought penalties for non-compliance moved from $100,000 to $250,000 it doesn't do much to protect the public.

Even though the bill does give more power to the FDA one has to wonder if it helps the average American pay for his/her prescriptions. Medical coverage is increasingly becoming difficult to obtain through your employer. Co-pays are moving higher, costs of medication are moving higher, and the quality of coverage is moving lower. Forcing more legislation on the drug manufacturers isn't likely going to reduce costs.

Imagine you are a drug manufacturer like Pfizer and the government forced you to conduct additional testing beyond what is required to get your product to the market. You may consider spending additional corporate monies on research, development and testing before the drug is even offered. This increased cost is passed directly to the consumers who must now pay.