The FDA recently gave approval for Florida to import drugs from Canada. This will allow Floridians to buy directly from Canadian pharmacies. The reason for this is that Canadian drug prices are much cheaper than ours. This policy should spread to other states as well if initial implementation goes right. Government officials are hoping that this action will help reign in the price of our drugs.
The reason why this is being implemented in Florida is because of a law by the Trump administration in 2020. The law essentially details that States are allowed to make proposals to the FDA and work with them to get them implemented.
So far there has been much criticism of this choice from industry professionals, such as the PhRMA who is allegedly prepared to file suit. Professionals all around the U.S. are saying that it is risking our safety, but most of these people are profiting from the ridiculous drug pricing. There is also push back from Canadian pharmacies as they have made agreements to not sell limited drugs. This is understandable as Canada’s drug supply is not large enough to support the United States and themselves.
The reason why the drugs in Canada are cheaper is because their prices are regulated by the government. The board that does so is the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board if new drugs have obscene prices, they do not allow them. How they determine if the price is unruly is through the Human Advisory Panel in Canada, they analyze the drug effectiveness and determine the max amount that drug is actually worth.
On the other hand, the United States government is not allowed to interfere with the pricing. Our companies are allowed to set whatever price they deem fit. However, it is not just corruption that makes our prices steep, it is also the more expensive pricing when it comes to production and getting it approved by the FDA.
There have been many theoretical solutions to solving this issue, but I believe that this policy will help constrain the prices. Clearly, this is not something I could see being permanent throughout the U.S., but it is a good eye opener for these companies to start lowering the excessiveness of their prices or the U.S. will find other sources.
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