Trump administration advances prescription drug import plan

Trump ministration, er to show progress on prescription drug costs, on Wednesday moved forward on its plan to allow Americans to safely and legally get access to lower-priced medicines from abro. Health officials unveiled a proposed regulation that would allow states to import many brand name drugs from Cana, with federal oversight. A second draft plan would let pharmaceutical companies seek approval to import ir own drugs, from any country.

It’s unclear that eir idea will have an impact on patients’ costs ahe of 2020 election, but Trump ministration has vanced beyond its predecessors in trying to set up a supervised system for importing drugs. Medicines cost less in or vanced countries because governments take an active role in setting prices.

“A new pathway for importation can move us to a more open and competitive market,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said.

“We will t take steps that would put patients or our drug supply at risk,” he ded.

steps taken Wednesday to follow outline of an anuncement by White House in July.

Drug companies have been under relentless criticism over high prices from President Donald Trump and leing lawmakers of both major political parties. A government report showed that prices for pharmacy drugs fell by 1% last year, for first time in 45 years. But decline was driven by lower generic drug prices while cost of brand name drugs continued to rise, although more slowly.

cost of medicines remains one of top health care worries for Americans, and a recent Gallup-West Health poll found that 66% of ults believe Trump ministration has me little or progress on issue. bitter politics of impeachment are clouding prospects for major drug pricing legislation in Congress.

pharmaceutical industry has successfully opposed drug importation for years, arguing that safety of medicines purchased from or countries can’t be guaranteed.

Trump ministration is following a two-part strategy.

A proposed regulation issued Wednesday would set up a system for states to import brand name medicines from Cana, working with pharmacies and wholesalers. Mainly pills would be covered under plan. Insulin, biologic drugs, narcotics and certain or medications would be excluded, at least initially.

second part of plan is to draft legal guidance to drug companies outlining steps y can follow to import ir own drugs. That could potentially allow for importation of a broer range of medications, and from any country, Azar said.

government has estimates of how much money consumers might be able to save, partly because it’s unclear how many states would pursue drug importation from Cana. Florida has a strong interest in idea, along with a handful of or states.

It’s “undefinable for purposes of cost projection at this point,” Azar said.

On Capitol Hill, House and Senate are pursuing different strategies to cut drug costs. re’s considerable overlap between plans, but re are also sharp differences.

A bipartisan bill in Senate and House-passed legislation from Speaker Nancy Pelosi would cap what Medicare recipients pay out of pocket for medicines and penalize drug companies that raise ir prices above inflation rate.

But Pelosi would go much furr, authorizing Medicare to negotiate drug prices and ploughing back savings to provide seniors with new dental, hearing and vision cover. With congressional Republicans set against Medicare negotiations, White House has issued a veto threat on Pelosi’s bill, even though candidate Trump supported idea in 2016.