Prescription drug prices in America ARE an issue ….
There have been pushes for state’s to allow consumers to legally go north of the border and get the same drugs they are paying and arm and leg for MUCH cheeper in Canada …
With Trump about to get impeached and a election in the wings?
His admin is suddenly open to doing something that will help the average American…
(With sweeteners for American drug companies also)
And possible get him votes next November?
The Trump administration Wednesday opened the door for states to import drugs from Canada, advancing a key part of its remaining agenda to save Americans money on pharmaceuticals.
The draft rule lays out how states, wholesalers and pharmacies could import certain medicines from Canada, giving the White House a proposal to tout to voters less than a week after House Democrats passed their own, sweeping drug pricing reform plan.
The drug industry has lambasted proposals to let states and consumers directly import medicines, but the financial impact of the proposal is likely to be modest compared to some of the tough drug price controls that Democrats passed in the House, or even a bipartisan bill now stranded in the Senate. With Republican support, the drug companies have avoided the lash of those measures.
President Donald Trump has made lowering the cost of drugs a key part of his agenda but has struggled to rack up any big wins on the issue through new policy. The importation announcement’s timing — on impeachment day — shows how the president hopes to use lower drug prices to woo suburban voters. But the administration has retreated on some of its more ambitious pricing proposals, like a plan to dramatically reform the drug rebate system, while other measures have been struck down by the courts or are still being drafted.
For now, the importation plan presented by HHS Secretary Alex Azar to reporters excludes controlled substances, IV drugs and pricey biologics such as insulin and the popular drug Humira to treat rheumatoid arthritis. But Azar said that as states prove cost-savings and drug safety under the plan, Congress could look at expanding it to more complex and expensive medicine….