How to rein in soaring drug prices.

To help speed up the approval of new drugs and devices, the U.S. Senate voted last week to renew the Food and Drug Administration’s authority to collect fees from prescription drug and medical device industries. What the Senate did not address, however, was the prohibitive cost of prescription drugs for many Americans.

The affordability of prescription drugs directly affects Americans’ health and wallets. Yet in its wrangle over health insurance, Congress rarely mentioned drug affordability or accessibility in debates, even as it examined ways in which drug companies set prices. What can be done? One step would be to let Medicare negotiate with pharmaceutical companies to bring down prescription-drug costs. Polls show strong support for this concept — but so far, Congress has not acted.

Allowing less-expensive medicine to be imported from other countries, such as Canada, is also an idea very much in play. “Surprisingly, it’s an idea that has drawn support from both Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump,” the Washington Post has reported, even though the FDA officially frowns on Americans importing drugs.

How should the U.S. rein in skyrocketing drug costs? To help sort out the options, we turn to:

Former Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum. He warns against a change in the law to make it easier to import drugs from abroad, which, he says, could help smugglers bring dangerous opioids into the United States.

Jeff Johnson of Florida AARP. The head of the state affiliate of the national organization, which represents Americans age 50 and older, suggests steps to bring down prescription-drug costs.

To learn more

Four former FDA commissioners denounce drug importation, citing dangers to consumers goo.gl/bK6oab

Why Prescription Drugs Cost So Much - AARP goo.gl/NGV6nj