The Department of Health and Human Services recently announced a “Safe Importation Action Plan” to address the high costs of prescription medicines. The proposed plan would set up a system which would channel drugs from Canada, outside of the scope of many of our nation’s safety standards, and deliver them to American patients.
Up to 99% of these drugs don’t meet the standards of the Food and Drug Administration, and four former leaders of the FDA have voiced concerns to lawmakers over safety issues regarding the importation of drugs from other countries. While Canada regulates its domestic supply, it cannot guarantee the safety of exported drugs which puts the burden on an FDA which is already battling with counterfeiters and illicit criminal enterprises to keep America’s healthcare supply chain safe and effective.
Medicines from other countries have been found in many cases to be ineffective, and in specific instances to be counterfeit altogether. What we would be doing is giving dangerous chemicals to the most vulnerable members of our communities without full visibility on the product. This includes our seniors, who are often on more than one prescription at a time, as well as other underserved communities.
The stated intent is to keep costs down, which is understandable, but then there are no reassurances that prices would even come down if we begin giving foreign drugs to our patients, according to totals from the Congressional Budget Office, which concluded that allowing that importation from Canada would result in a “negligible reduction in drug spending.” The “Safe Importation Action Plan” is nothing but a gimmick that increases the risks involved with prescription medications.
Then there is also the ability of other countries to meet the needs of our country’s demands for prescription drugs. Canadian officials have said that they would run out of prescription drugs in less than a year if they began attempting to fill the demands of the United States market. This means American consumers would face back end cost increases by those foreign entities in efforts to increase production or resort to countries with even less regulations like China to meet their budgets.
The pursuit of lowering drug prices is noble, however importing drugs of questionable quality that ultimately don’t lead to long-term savings is not only a mere band-aid that inspires false hope in our patients, but a dangerous measure that puts their lives at risk.
The right approach would be to work on real, market-based solutions that will allow Americans financial freedom from expensive prescription drugs, with peace of mind in knowing they’re doing so in the safest way possible.
