Personal Not Wholesale Importation Delivers the Savings Patients Need
WASHINGTON, D.C. – This month Colorado took the next step in advancing their wholesale prescription drug importation plan. Colorado announced that it has signed deals with three companies: AdiraMedica, a wholesaler with a subsidiary in Canada that will act as the exporter; Premier Pharmaceuticals, an Idaho-based wholesaler that will act as the importer and distributor; and Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Safety, which will run a program to collect reports on the drugs’ safety. CPPI warns that wholesale/state importation plans could have the unintended consequence of cutting Americans off from the licensed pharmacies on which they depend. State wholesale importation plans add pricey middlemen that cut into patients’ proposed savings.
“Americans are in dire need of affordable access to critical medications that importation can offer, but wholesale state importation is not the solution,” says Jack Pfeiffer, executive director of CPPI. “Only personal importation, which avoids use of pricey middlemen and layers of bureaucracy, can deliver the savings that Americans need, particularly those on fixed incomes.”
Americans importing prescription drugs for personal use report saving 36% more in 2021 than 2020, in survey results released today by the Campaign for Personal Prescription Importation (CPPI). Average annual savings increased by over $1,000 to $3,744 per person in 2021, up from $2,736 in 2020, through purchases from licensed Canadian pharmacies compared to costs in the U.S. Those substantial savings offered to Americans through importation would diminish rapidly under state wholesale plans.
The state wholesale importation plans are laden with extensive requirements that add layers of bureaucracy, which would take years to implement. Moreover, there is extensive opposition to State and tribal wholesale importation programs. Canadian regulatory restrictions, federal approval, and legal challenges remain obstacles for state wholesale importation programs to become operational.
Since 2017, state legislatures across the country have taken over 120 legislative actions to try to reign in high drug costs. Efforts aimed at importation programs have taken hold in six states. There is opposition to the wholesale importation pathway these states are pursuing because it would not deliver the full savings to patients, instead, programs would layer in new middlemen.
None of the State Importation Programs have been enacted as of yet. U.S. and Canadian regulatory restrictions, as well as legal challenges, remain obstacles for these state pursuits.
Colorado
Colorado’s SB19-005, signed into law in May 2019, created a “Canadian Prescription Drug Importation Program” in the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (CHCPF). In January, 2021, Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing issued a request for companies to bid on its plan to import drugs from Canada.
Florida
Florida enacted its importation bill, SB19, in June 2019 and submitted the Florida State Import Proposal to HHS in July. Under the Florida plan, the state will purchase drugs for state agencies (including for the Medicaid program and the corrections and health departments) and it is projected to save the state between $80 and $150 million in the first year alone. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis included $15 million in his proposed 2021-2022 budget for an importation program and has contracted with LifeScience to lead proposed implementation.
Maine
Maine signed LD1272 into law in June 2019 and submitted an application to HHS in April 2020. Maine’s bill allows the state to consider whether the program may be developed on a multistate basis through collaboration with other states.
New Hampshire
New Hampshire’s drug importation law, which was enacted in July 2020, stated that the state would submit a plan to HHS by February 1, 2021.
New Mexico
New Mexico’s governor signed SB1, in March 2020. New Mexico’s plan would authorize the state to create a wholesale prescription drug importation program administered by New Mexico’s Department of Health. PHARMA has contested New Mexico’s new law in court.
Vermont
Vermont’s governor signed S 175, in May 2018, which directed the Agency of Human Services (VAHS) to design a program for wholesale Canadian prescription drug importation. In October 2019, the governor submitted a concept plan to HHS.