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Non-Partisan Support of Prescription Drug Importation State Laws Deviate from the National Political Norm

Trump supports prescription drug importation, and he’s not alone. An article by Kaiser Health News reporter Phil Galewitz headlined Trump’s support for drug importation to fight high drug prices at the state level. His article delves into the history of earlier state importation attempts, which were personal drug importation not wholesale drug importation programs. But the coolest thing I took from it was that the three states that passed prescription drug importation laws have governors across the political spectrum. None are traditional right-wing Republicans or super left Democrats. What does that look like?

In Florida, you have Governor Ron DeSantis, fashioning himself in the mold of a Trumpist Republican.

In Vermont, you have Governor Phil Scott, who can best be described with a phrase practically unheard of these days: Liberal Republican.

Finally, newly elected Governor Jared Polis from Colorado is a moderate Democrat.

While the state importation bill failed to advance in Utah, its vociferous champion in the state assembly is a very conservative Republican, Norm Thurston (Provo).

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Florida’s House Drug Importation Bill – HB 19 – Easily Passes

Yesterday, the Florida House Legislature voted 93-22 passing HB 19. The bill creates programs and processes for importing prescription drugs from Canada, as well as from other countries. HB 19 actually calls for the creation of two programs, which I have summarized below. For a deep dive, you should read the Staff Analysis from the Florida House of Representatives.

Canadian Prescription Drug Importation Program (CPDIP)

If HB 19 becomes law, the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) will create processes that meet the safety protocols called for in the bill, which include inspections and testing of drugs, to allow registered wholesale pharmacies to import from Florida-registered Canadian wholesalers. In this program, lower drug prices will save taxpayers money for government funded-entities, such as county health departments, free clinics, and the Department of Corrections.

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NY State Authorizes Paper Prescriptions to Fill in Foreign Pharmacies

Good news for New Yorkers who want freedom of choice to fill their prescriptions at pharmacies located where they are more affordable: in other countries. There is now an explicit exception to the electronic prescription (e-prescribing) law in New York that permits paper prescriptions to be filled in other countries. I’m sorry we didn’t catch this earlier, but here it is now. As of January 2017, according to the NY State Department of Health, one exception to e-prescribing, which allows a provider to write a paper prescription, is when the medicine is: 

“…dispensed by a pharmacy located outside the state, outside the country, or on federal property, including and not limited to the following examples; Veterans Administration, West Point, Fort Drum, and Indian Reservations;”

When e-prescribing became mandatory in NY, people had a hard time obtaining paper prescriptions. This was not just an inconvenience. It was a threat to their access to affordable medicine. In our country, it’s sometimes imperative to shop around and find the pharmacy that charges the lowest price in our neighborhood – or in another country. This development should be very helpful to people looking to shop around.

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