By Tim Craig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday,
November 2, 2005; B01
The Montgomery County Council approved a bill yesterday requiring officials
to give county employees the option to purchase lower-cost prescription drugs
from Canada -- or anyplace else they can find a good deal. The bill was approved despite continued warnings from the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration that the county was on the verge of violating federal law and
risked being sued. The proposal, which affects 12,500 county employees and retirees, requires
County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) to participate in a program established
by the council last year. "We will be a leader on the issue on securing safe, low-cost prescription
drugs on the behalf of our citizens," said County Council President Tom Perez
(D-Silver Spring), the lead sponsor of the legislation. Before the council vote, the FDA dispatched a top official to reiterate the
agency's position that drugs from foreign sources are neither safe nor
legal. Thomas J. McGinnis, the FDA's director of pharmacy affairs, said the council
was putting employees and taxpayers at risk. "If someone gets hurt, the county may very well be liable," McGinnis said.
"It could bankrupt the Montgomery County government." But the council rushed ahead and approved the bill 6 to 2, holding a hearing
and a final vote on the same day. The unusual move signaled council members'
frustration that their earlier efforts to establish a Canadian drug program were
hampered by Duncan and other county officials. In September, the council approved a resolution calling for a program to
allow 85,000 employees, retirees and dependents who receive taxpayer-funded
health care to obtain Canadian drugs. The council contracted with Canusa, a privately held health benefits company
based in Windsor, Ontario, to obtain and distribute the drugs. But the program has struggled to get off the ground, in large part because of
the reluctance of county officials to blatantly snub the FDA, which is based in
Rockville. Duncan decided he would first seek a waiver from the FDA allowing the county
to import Canadian drugs. The agency has never issued any such waiver. The
stance opened him up to charges that he was trying to dodge the issue. "I think the county executive is seeking an answer to a question he already
knows the answer to," said Robert A. Stewart, a lobbyist for the Municipal &
County Government Employees Organization, which supported Perez's proposal. "For
whatever reason, this is an uncomfortable issue for him." Last month, the county school board, at the urging of Superintendent Jerry D.
Weast, declined to participate, mainly because of concerns that the action would
violate federal law. The board, which has jurisdiction over 27,000 employees,
said it would reconsider if the county received an FDA waiver or if the Duncan
administration acted first. Although the council bill applies only to county government employees and
retirees, Perez hopes that the school system, the planning agency, Montgomery
College and the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission will follow. David Weaver, a Duncan spokesman, said the administration is still hoping to
get a waiver from the federal government, though it has yet to hear a response.
If it does not get one, Weaver said, the administration "will work with the
council to implement the law." Board of Education President Patricia O'Neill (Bethesda-Chevy Case) said the
council's decision, absent an FDA waiver, will not have an impact on whether the
school system moves forward. "The board was very clear on this. We were going to be a follower, not a
leader,'' she said. Beyond the legal considerations, some policymakers note that the economics of
the issue have changed during the past year. Last fall, council members said the program could save taxpayers $15 million
to $20 million. Since then, some have suggested that the actual savings could be
as little as $1 million. Canadian officials have also said they are going to restrict the flow of
drugs to the United States.