Several governors have thrown their weight behind "drug re-importation" schemes. Perhaps recent safety scandals will cause state officials to resist the temptation to do so.

Recall that a move by Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-Minn.) for his state to establish an online pharmacy allowing residents to buy prescription drugs through Canada was derided by the FDA as "unsafe, unsound and ill-considered." Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D-Ill.) made similar moves (PDF). Other governors have expressed interest, if not support, in importation

The incentives are certainly there: Respond to popular pressure and gain points; Save some money (you hope) on the health care costs of your state employees' benefit plans.

And safety concerns, once dismissed as merely a rhetorical defense from the pharmaceutical industry, are gaining traction.

Grace-Marie Turner provides the rest of this commentary:

The Reuters newswire reports that Sens. McCain and Obama "are reviewing their support" for drug importation "in light of tainted medicines and other goods made in other countries."

They and other political leaders have been on record as backing legislative initiatives that would allow Americans to import drugs from abroad to take advantage of the price controls other countries impose on pharmaceuticals.

We have written for years that this practice threatens patient health and the safety of our pharmaceutical supply chain, but leaders and editorialists have rejected the safety argument, until now.

"[R]ecent scares involving chemical-laced batches of baby formula and the blood thinner heparin -- both made in China -- have raised new concerns that safely bringing in additional medical products from overseas could be tougher than expected," Reuters reports.

Advisors for both McCain and Obama spoke at a Generic Pharmaceutical Association's (GPhA) annual conference in Washington yesterday, indicating the candidates were rethinking their positions.

"Both candidates were in favor of reimportation and sort of subsequent to the heparin incident (there's) a lot less enthusiasm," said Dora Hughes, senior health policy adviser to Sen. Obama. "We have a better understanding of the challenges that go along to support the importation."

"We now realize the challenges for doing that are greater than before," Douglas Holtz-Eakin, senior policy adviser to Sen. McCain, told reporters at the conference.

Neither adviser said their candidate has abandoned drug importation but realized it would be more difficult, Reuters reports.

If any legislation were to emerge next year on this issue, at the very least it should require the Department of Homeland Security to certify the safety of importing vast quantities of drugs from other countries.

Hippocrates' dictate to physicians to "First, do no harm" also is appropriate for politicians intervening in health care.

ME: Grace-Marie is speaking of federal officials, of course, but given their track record, state leaders ought to take heed as well.