Kaiser Family Foundation shared a close-up look at the safe importation of prescription drugs, and specifically current propsals to enable states to start their own importation programs.
As the authors write, “The high cost of prescription drugs continues to be a top concern for the public” and point out that Americans often pay more for their medications compared to people in other countries.
Based on KFF research, the majority of Americans (78%) support importing medications from Canada. There is only a negligible difference based on political party – Democrats (75%), Independents (82%), and Republicans (75%).
It is refreshing to read a balanced and fair news piece on importation and KFF has long been a source of trusted reporting on important healthcare issues. Americans who are struggling to afford medications in the U.S. and looking to explore options to import their medications from reliable pharmacies in Canada, should read this piece.
As the authors point out, the law currently allows for the importation of certain drugs from Canada under “defined, limited circumstances” and only if the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) certifies that importation poses no threat to the health and safety of the American public. Although no HHS Secretary has ever certified the safety of importation.
Many federal and state lawmakers have pushed for legislation to allow for the importation of prescription drugs from Canada and other countries and the Administration recently proposed two new pathways to allow for the safe importation of drugs from Canada and other countries.
Please check out the FAQs on recent importation proposals and the history of drug importation in the U.S., which may help explain why previous proposals have faced challenges and how these challenges might be overcome in the future through the current regulatory effort.
Read the full piece here.