Posted on 01/05/2024 1:10:38 PM PST by NautiNurse
FDA’s decision could change the way Americans obtain prescription medicines
The Food and Drug Administration has decided to allow the first state to import drugs from Canada, a milestone in efforts to reduce the cost of medicines that could change the way Americans fill prescriptions.
The agency said Friday it would allow Florida to import prescription drugs from Canada. Several other states have filed similar requests with the agency.
The approval opens the door to a new, lower-cost source of prescription drugs, beyond the retail and mail-order pharmacies—and the U.S. supply chain they are part of—that Americans have relied on for decades to fill prescriptions.
[Snip]
Plans such as Florida’s to import drugs are likely to face obstacles, including lawsuits from drugmakers and opposition from Canadian authorities.
[Snip]
Florida has said it would begin importing drugs to help people cared for by state agencies, such as the Department of Corrections or the Agency for Persons with Disabilities.
Later the program would be expanded to import drugs for Medicaid recipients. Gov. Ron DeSantis has estimated the program would save the state up to $150 million in the first year.
[Snip]
American patients seeking lower-priced drugs have for years sought products in Canada, buying them online or taking bus trips north. But the practice was, for the most part, illegal.
[Snip]
Florida first filed its application with the FDA in 2020. Gov. Ron DeSantis later accused the agency of unreasonable delay. In 2022, the state sued the FDA, prompting the agency to set a deadline for its decision—a date that went through several revisions before settling on Jan. 5.
Several other states have submitted similar requests to FDA or have expressed interest. The agency is weighing Colorado’s application. New Hampshire’s was rejected in 2022.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
This is false, CanaRX has been doing this in Maine for years while many pharmacists have been against it because of the irregularity of consistent medicine.
Remember 15 years ago when the libs all hated the pharmaceutical companies and considered them evil.... now they all worship them. so weird!
Taking advantage of Canadas government subsidies for medicine! Sounds like a win until the democRATS pass a law against it!
I think this is a stupid idea.
Yes, I don’t expect this to end well at all.
Yes, very weird.
As long as they don’t come wrapped in Mexican news papers.
“I think this is a stupid idea.”
Of course you do.
I am a retired clinical pharmacist. I have bought drugs from Canada with a valid prescription from my doctor here in the USA for years. My insurance would not cover Cialis. I saved thousands of dollars. It is now generic in the USA, thus I no longer do this. There are many other drugs that are in extreme price ranges that can be purchased from Canada at a great saving. These are drugs that are used chronically for health.
I have no problem with drugs from Canada, if purchased from a legitimate licensed pharmacy in Canada.
Any pharmacy from any country that does not require a prescription for a prescription only drug is not legitimate. Do not use them. You do not know what you are getting. I myself used "Northwest Pharmacy" out of Vancouver. They are very legitimate and ethical. However, there are many others in Canada of equal ethics. Avoid any pharmacy online that deals in scheduled drugs, i.e. narcotics. Without exception they are bad people.
Big Pharma charges less for drugs outside the borders of the US.
This cannot work on a large scale. Here’s why. Canada and most other national markets have socialist price controls on their drugs. The US cooperates with this socialized medicine scheme by using the drug certification process. For a pharma company to get US certification it has to agree to produce allotments of their drugs and sell them at reduced prices to foreign countries. So a pill that costs ten dollars to the consumer in the US might cost one dollar in, say, Canada. What happens is the Canadian pharmacy can sell that drug they got for, say fifty cents, in the US market for, say seven dollars. Big win, right? This means the Canadian pharmacies don’t sell their drugs in Canada. Several years ago, there was a study published on the numbers of Canadians coming across the border into the US for emergency treatment because they could not get what are common drugs in the US.
I’m reminded of the book “Buy Real-estate With No Money Down.” I had an uncle who did this a lot. But once everyone was doing it, nobody could do it. Same thing with drugs. It worked only so long as everyone wasn’t doing it. There has to be a blowback. Either the US will stop allowing the drugs in the country or other countries will criminalize selling the out of market.
Eliquis here is $1400 for a 2 month supply, I buy mine online from Canada $122
Just because the U.S. requires a prescription for a drug doesn't mean that everywhere else does, and that doesn't make it "not legitimate". I travel for a living and many drugs that are overcontrolled in the U.S. are available over the counter in other countries. For example I was running low of lisinopril in Dubai. I walked into the pharmacy and asked them for it, they turned around and grabbed a box off the shelf then rang me up. No BS of "where's your prescription" or "I've got to talk to your doctor". Many drugs that should be OTC are prescription because the medical establishment makes more money of people that way. Having to trot into a doctor to get a refill of something like lisinopril requires an expensive doctor's visit. The justification for it is always pitched under the guise of patient safety, after all who could be against safety? The reality is it's just a money grab by a bloated health care system that's sucking us dry.
Like you, I have purchased Rx meds through a CIPA Canada pharmacy for more than 12 years. Have saved thousands of dollars. Very pleased with the quality and prices for meds. The pharmacy steadfastly adheres to valid prescriptions and filling no more than 90 days per refill.
I recall reports of Canadians crossing into the U.S. to receive diagnostic studies and therapeutic treatments (e.g. surgery) because the wait times were much longer in Canada. I have not heard of medications readily available in the U.S. which were not available in Canada.
Do you know why Canadian drugs are cheaper...?
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