Trump pushes ahead on import plan for lower-cost Rx drugs

Canada cautions: Our market’s too small to drive down U.S. prices.

The Trump administration, eager to show progress on prescription drug costs, on Wednesday moved forward with its plan to allow Americans to safely and legally get access to lower-priced medicines from abroad.

How it would work

The administration is following a two-part strategy:

■ A proposed regulation would set up a system for states to import brand name medicines from Canada, working through pharmacies and wholesalers. Mainly pills would be covered under the plan. Insulin, biologic drugs, narcotics and certain other medications would be excluded, at least initially.

■ The second part of the plan involves draft legal guidance to drug companies outlining steps they can follow to import their own drugs. That could potentially allow for the importation of a broader range of medications, and from any country, said Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar.

Wednesday’s proposals follow the outline of an announcement by the White House in July. Many people already buy at least some of their medicines from pharmacies in Canada or Mexico, although technically it’s illegal to import them.

What not to expect

Patients are unlikely to see quick relief on prices, even in states such as Florida that are pursuing their own import plans.

Canadian officials have also raised questions, saying their country’s prescription drug market is too small to have any real impact on U.S. prices.

Canada’s acting ambassador to Washington pointed out that the U.S. consumes 44% of the world’s pharmaceuticals, compared with Canada’s 2%. “Not only are we too small of a market, Canada cannot increase its domestic pharmaceutical drug supply to meet U.S. demand.”

What Congress has done

On Capitol Hill, a bipartisan bill in the Senate and House-passed legislation would cap what Medicare recipients pay out of pocket for medicines and penalize drug companies that raise their prices above the inflation rate.