Trump’s Plan To Allow Americans To Import Drugs From Canada Blasted By Critics As A ‘Band-Aid’
In an about-face, HHS Secretary Alex Azar touted the administration's openness to the idea that importing drugs from Canada can help make them more affordable to Americans. The plan would allow state governments, pharmacies and drug manufacturers to come up with proposals for safe importation and submit them for federal approval. Some lawmakers and experts welcome the proposal as a first step, but others were disappointed. “This is kind of a distraction from the real issue, and the real problem,” said Elizabeth Rowley, the founder and director of T1International, a diabetes advocacy group. “Which is pharmaceutical companies are setting costs at exorbitant rates and patients are suffering and dying.”
The New York Times:
Trump Administration Weighs Allowing Drug Imports For Cheaper Prescriptions
The Trump administration said on Wednesday that it was taking steps to make it easier to import less expensive prescription drugs from other countries, particularly Canada. The move has long been supported by progressives but has encountered fierce opposition from the pharmaceutical industry. The proposal would permit pilot programs developed by states, pharmacies or drug distributors that sought to safely import prescription medications from Canada. (Thomas, 7/31)
The Washington Post:
Trump Administration Outlines Plans For Eventual Importation Of Cheaper Drugs
The plan would allow state governments, pharmacies and drug manufacturers to come up with proposals for safe importation and submit them for federal approval. Top officials at Health and Human Services and the Food and Drug Administration outlined two measures the administration could take to allow Americans to purchase lower-cost, Canadian versions of some medicines. That could potentially include insulin — whose price rose about 300 percent from 2002 to 2013 — as well as drugs for rheumatoid arthritis, cancer and cardiovascular disorders, HHS said. (Abutaleb and McGinley, 7/31)
ABC News:
Trump Administration Announces Plan To Lower Drug Prices
According to HHS, the dual-pronged plan would establish a rule that would allow various entities, like states and pharmacists, to create proposals for the FDA. The FDA would then look at how “they would import certain drugs from Canada that are versions of FDA-approved drugs that are manufactured consistent with the FDA approval,” according to HHS. The second part of the plan would have the FDA create recommendations for drug manufacturers that sell FDA-approved drugs in foreign countries but want to import those drugs to the U.S. (Tatum, 7/31)
CNBC:
Trump's Plan To Allow The US To Import Cheaper Drugs From Canada
“President Trump has been clear: for too long American patients have been paying exorbitantly high prices for prescription drugs that are made available to other countries at lower prices, ” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement. “Today’s announcement outlines the pathways the administration intends to explore to allow safe importation of certain prescription drugs to lower prices and reduce out of pocket costs for American patients.” (Lovelace, 7/31)
Stat:
Trump Administration Unveils Plan To Allow Drug Importation From Canada
Only certain drugs could be imported under those state-based plans. Insulin, in particular, which has become a symbol of the striking price differences between the U.S. and Canada, couldn’t be imported under these programs. On a press call Wednesday, Azar emphasized that insulin, which is a biologic, can’t be imported under existing law. Nevertheless, a number of states have already expressed interest in doing just what Trump is proposing: Trump has vocally supported a plan from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and has publicly directed Azar to find a way to make Florida’s plan work. Colorado and Vermont have also both passed similar laws supporting importation of prescription drugs. (Florko, 7/31)
Modern Healthcare:
Prescription Drug Import Plan Offered By Trump Administration
Azar and acting FDA Commissioner Ned Sharpless didn't lay out a specific timeline for the new proposals, but an FDA spokesperson said the agency "is committed to advancing these policies as quickly as possible. We expect to have additional announcements in the coming months." The two strategies leave many questions unanswered until all the logistics are worked out through a proposed rule. The second regulatory idea, for instance, doesn't make room for biosimilars competing in Europe with AbbVie's Humira — which holds the U.S. market for arthritis medication until 2023. (Luthi, 7/31)
Kaiser Health News:
Trump Administration ‘Open For Business’ On Drug Imports From Canada
In May 2018, Azar said the prospect of importing drugs from Canada was just a “gimmick” because that country is not large enough to meet all the drug needs of the United States. But lowering drug prices has been a key promise of President Donald Trump, and a few months later, Azar said he was forming a work group that would explore allowing certain drugs that had seen major price hikes to be imported. (Galewitz, 7/31)
The Hill:
Trump Administration Issues Plan To Allow Imports Of Cheaper Prescription Drugs
Azar said that new technologies have allowed importation to be done more safely than in the past and added that Trump, who is a major proponent of drug importation, is always “challenging” him to “find more solutions.” “He is always pushing me, challenging me to find more solutions to help the American patient,” Azar said of Trump. (Sullivan, 7/31)
The Associated Press:
US To Set Up Plan Allowing Prescription Meds From Canada
The move is a step toward fulfilling a 2016 campaign promise by President Donald Trump. It weakens an import ban that has stood as a symbol of the political clout of the pharmaceutical industry. But it’s unclear how soon consumers will see benefits, as the plan has to go through time-consuming regulatory approval and later could face court challenges from drugmakers. And there’s no telling how Canada will react to becoming the drugstore for its much bigger neighbor, with potential consequences for policymakers and consumers there. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 7/31)
Politico:
Drug Industry Lashes Trump For Canada Importation Plan
The pharmaceutical industry swiftly attacked the plan, citing Azar’s own words from just last year, when he called drug importation a “gimmick.” "Rather than surrender the safety of Americans by importing failed polices from single-payer countries, we should work on solutions here at home that would lower patient out-of-pocket costs at the pharmacy counter," said Stephen Ubl, CEO of Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers of America, in a statement. (Owermohle and Allen, 7/31)
Bloomberg:
Health Agencies Set Stage For U.S. To Import Cheaper Drugs
Alexander Cohen, a spokesman for Canadian Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor, said Canadian officials are in contact with their U.S. counterparts to discuss Wednesday’s announcement. Canadian officials “will be working closely with health experts to better understand the implications for Canadians and will ensure there are no adverse effects to the supply or cost of prescription drugs in Canada,” Cohen said. (Ward, 7/31)
Bloomberg:
Trump’s ‘Crazy’ Drug Import Plan Stirs Supply Fears In Canada
The response from outraged Canadians? Just say no. “It’s crazy,” said Jacalyn Duffin, a medical historian and professor emerita at Queen’s University who doesn’t receive funding from the pharmaceutical industry. “He should be finding out why Americans have to pay more than Canadians to buy the same drugs from multinational companies.” (Pearson and Jagdev, 7/31)
The Star Tribune:
Plan To Import Drugs From Canada Gets Guarded Welcome In Minnesota
Although the proposal is in its early stages, the news was welcomed by some Minnesota advocacy groups that hope it will bring needed relief to patients struggling with high and rising drug prices. ...But others expressed dismay when they learned that some medications would be ineligible for importation, including insulin used to control diabetes. Insulin prices have soared in recent years, causing some diabetics to ration medicine or even seek out black market sources. (Howatt, 7/31)
NH Times Union:
New Hampshire Advocates Say Prescription Import Plan Could Help
A plan published Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Food and Drug Administration could allow for the importation of less expensive Canadian drugs, as well as other medications made for other countries. The idea of importing cheaper medicine has attracted bipartisan support amid a push to control the price of prescription drugs. President Donald Trump has backed the idea, as have New Hampshire’s U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, both Democrats. (Albertson-Grove, 7/31)
