In February 2019, during a news conference at The Villages, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis proposed importing Canadian prescription drugs to the state as a way to cut health care costs.
While it is currently illegal to import unapproved prescription drugs into the United States, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has the power to approve programs that would allow drugs to be imported from Canada. Last year, Vermont become the first state in the country to enact a prescription-drug importation law, but it is still in the process of developing its plan and it has not yet submitted an application to HHS to allow international importation.
DeSantis Announcement
According to DeSantis, a drug importation program would save Florida residents money in addition to saving the state millions of dollars on prescription drugs for prisoners. “Once we get this in place, you as a citizen will have access to more affordable drugs,” the governor said.
The 2003 Medicare Modernization Act gave the HHS Secretary the authority to permit importation of prescription drugs from Canada if the agency certifies there is no health risk to the public and it will result in reductions in the costs of prescription drugs. “So far, because of concerns over safety, no secretary has ever given such approval,” a Congressional Research Service report noted last December.
DeSantis is confident in his ability to get the job done, however, as he stated his reliance on his relationship with President Donald Trump, “I’m ready to act. I will continue to work with President Trump to make sure this process works.”
Florida House of Representatives
The Health and Human Services Committee and Representative Tom Leek introduced House Bill 19 earlier this year. The bill would create programs for the purpose of safely importing cost-effective prescription drugs into state from Canada & other foreign nations under specified conditions and includes eligibility criteria for prescription drugs & program participants. The legislation also notes that implementation of International Prescription Drug Importation Program is contingent on federal arrangement or obtaining federal guidance.
Representative Leek told committee lawmakers the proposal would shift cost savings to consumers, citing the high cost of prescription drugs nationwide. In response to some lawmakers’ questions that there were no specific price controls built into the bill, he acknowledged that “what’s built into this bill is the free market… It’s a simple economics philosophy that we know will work here.”
In a hearing held in the House, pharmacists and pharmaceutical officials questioned the proposal and how effectively and safely it would address what they agreed was a rapid rise in prescription drug costs. John Clark, a vice president and chief security officer for Pfizer, also raised concerns about the potential for counterfeit drugs, saying the pharmaceutical company had seen an increase in in its own drugs being copied over the years.
On March 12, 2019, the legislation was voted to advance by the House Health Quality subcommittee. The legislation is likely to pass through the Florida House with no issues; but the Florida Senate is a different story. Florida Senate President Bill Galvano previously stated that the governor’s plan to allow the state to import drugs from Canada was something he was “interested in exploring,” but that he worried the portion that would allow individuals or private entities to receive imported drugs from abroad might run afoul of Congress’ jurisdiction.
In addition to Florida, there are twelve state legislatures considering adoption of a similar program this year, though in order for any of them to go into effect, HHS would have to approve the program.