Can't hide much longer

The July 4 recess in Washington brings a short respite from the tortured attempts to ram health care reform through Congress. As we Commented on June 27, even the Congressional Budget Office has concluded that price controls will stifle incentives to invest in drug R&D. But that hasn't stopped the House Ways and Means Committee from passing out legislation loaded with "private sector cost containment" provisions. And on the Senate side, Arkansas Democrat David Pryor waits to weigh down any bill with his "Pharmaceutical Marketplace Reform Act of 1994," which mandates Medicare rebates on breakthrough drugs and blacklists for companies that don't cooperate. Like a shell game, price controls are under there somewhere, and in the crush to complete a bill during August, those bent on regulation are betting you won't see them until the game's over.

The plain fact is that the Biotechnology Industry Organization soon may face the glum prospect of opposing bills that reach the floor of each house. This may create unease on the part of some members of the industry, who may not want to be associated with any effort to block reform, or who worry about the implications for the rest of biotech's public policy agenda later on...