Washington, DC – The Campaign for Personal Prescription Importation today commented on the Biden Administration’s withdrawal of the Requests for Proposals for Insulin Reimportation and Personal Prescription Drug Importation.
“The withdrawal of policies advancing insulin re-importation and personal prescription importation marks a tragic step backwards in the fight to ensure Americans’ access to affordable prescription drugs,” said Jack Pfeiffer, Executive Director of the Campaign for Personal Prescription Importation. “American patients, families, and the healthcare system are struggling more than ever, and now is the time to take action to advance real and immediate measures to rein in insulin and prescription drug costs.”
Millions of Americans have found price savings from Canadian for personal importation of drugs since the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) of 2003. However full legislative and regulatory support for measures to lower drug prices through personal prescription importation in the United States has remained evasive. American patients turning to prescription importation from licensed Canadian online pharmacies find savings of 50% to 90% compared to even coupon prices at America’s leading pharmacy competitors.
More than 34 million people in the United States have diabetes, and more than 88 million have pre-diabetes according to the federal Centers for Disease Control. The average cost of a vial of insulin in Canada is $35.00 compared to $75.00 in the U.S. The annual cost of insulin for people with Type 1 diabetes in the U.S. nearly doubled from $2,900 in 2012 to $5,700 in 2016, according to the most recent data available from the Health Care Cost Institute. Januvia, a common type II diabetes drug, costs at best $496 in the U.S. with coupons, while the average price is just $125 at certified online Canadian pharmacies.
“It is time to ensure American patients have affordable access to the medications they need through prescription importation from safe Canadian pharmacies,” said Pfeiffer.