Canada’s Health Minister Patti Hajdu on Friday announced new measures to protect the country’s drug supply from bulk imports that could exacerbate drug shortages. It prevents the distribution of certain drugs outside of Canada if it causes a shortage or worse.
“Our health care system is a symbol of our national identity and we are committed to defending it,” Hajdu said. “The steps we’re taking today will help Canadians protect the use of the drugs they rely on.”
President-elect Joe Biden has also expressed interest in allowing consumers to import drugs from other countries, as the federal government has declared them safe.
Last week, Florida became the first state to submit an import proposal to a federal agency to create such a program under a newly issued rule. The scheme initially involves the importation of certain classes, including maintenance drugs to help people with chronic health conditions such as asthma, diabetes and HIV / AIDS. Several other states, including Vermont, Colorado, New Mexico and Maine, have also passed laws seeking federal approval for imports.
In response to the rising momentum, all three from the pharmaceutical industry groups filed a court challenge to imports last week, saying the effort would endanger the health of Americans and fail to bring down prices.
“The final rule is that the party line fails to address the well-documented security concerns about imports expressed by previous HHS secretaries for nearly two decades, or to show that the result of this proposal is significant – significant cost savings for American consumers.” Goes, ”said James Stansell, general adviser to PHRMA, a major industry lobbying group.
Health policy experts have also questioned the effectiveness of importing drugs from Canada – where an independent body established by Parliament ensures that the prices of brand-name drugs are not exorbitant. Even before HHS secretary Alex Azar changed his tune, he called it a “stake” in 2018.
Announcing the measures last week, Canada’s health ministry said it had repeatedly said the US rule would not do much to reduce prices in the US as Canada represents only 2% of global pharmaceutical sales, while the U.S. accounts for 44%.
It will effectively ban other drug manufacturers from giving exemptions to pharmacy benefit managers and insurers – a radical change in the price and way of paying for many drugs in Medicare and Medicaid. Instead, drug companies will be encouraged to pass discounts to patients directly at the pharmacy counter.
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