Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
O Canada! Florida looks north to reduce drug prices
TALLAHASSEE – Florida state lawmakers think they have a solution for your sky-high prescription drug bill — lower-cost medications from Canada.
The proposal to import drugs from Canada passed the House last week, and it’s on the way for a vote by the full Senate after clearing a committee Thursday.
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis made the idea a centerpiece of his health care agenda. It would require federal approval for Florida to implement the program.
The Legislature is poised to endorse the idea, despite concerns that it could open the door for dangerous, counterfeit drugs to be shipped into the state. The Partnership for Safe Medicines has been running ads critical of the plan.
That group has deep ties to a powerful lobbying group representing the pharmaceutical industry, according to Kaiser Health News.
Sen. Aaron Bean, the bill’s sponsor, dismissed concerns that the plan would harm patients. Imported drugs would be inspected for safety, and the program could be halted at any time, he said.
“The status quo is not going to go quietly into the night,” said Bean, R-Fernandina Beach. “They are enjoying we are paying the highest drug prices on the planet.”
The United States spent $1,162 per person on drugs in 2015, compared with $756 for Canada, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Unlike the United States, the Canadian government imposes price controls on prescription drugs.
The Senate proposal (SB 1528) approved Thursday limits the importation of Canadian drugs to state-funded entities, such as the Medicaid program, prison system and mental health treatment facilities. It leaves open the possibility of a broader program that would import drugs from other countries. That program would be available to private consumers but would require federal administrative action or an act of Congress.
Cheaper drugs would result in significant taxpayer savings, Bean said. The state prison system spends $34 million to treat hepatitis C alone, he said.
If successful, the Senate will have to reconcile its version with the one passed by the House.
Questions exist, though, whether the plan would receive federal approval and whether Canada would authorize the exporting of drugs to the United States. Canada has a population of 37 million, compared with 21 million people who live in Florida.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar dismissed the idea as a “gimmick” in May.
“They are a lovely neighbor to the north, but they’re a small one,” said Azar, whose agency would need to approve the importation plan. “Canada simply doesn’t have enough drugs to sell them to us for less money, and
drug companies won’t sell Canada or Europe more just to have them imported here.”
Concerns also have been voiced that the program would provide cover for counterfeiters who could sell fake drugs that compromise patient safety.
“We’re interested in price, but we don’t ever want to jeopardize the life of a senior by taking shortcuts,” Conwell Hooper, executive director of the American Senior Alliance, told lawmakers.
Last year, Vermont became the first state to enact a prescription-drug importation law, but it hasn’t yet submitted an application for federal approval.
A Senate committee also signed onto sweeping changes Thursday to Florida’s process for approving new hospitals. That’s a top priority for House Speaker José Oliva.
The measure would scrap the “certificate-of-need” process, an extensive state review providers undergo to build new hospitals, nursing homes and other health care facilities.
Supporters say repealing that process will lower health care costs, while opponents argue it will allow specialty hospitals to open that will hurt established, full-service providers.