Last week, the Food and Drug Administration granted Florida permission to import medicines from Canada, a controversial idea that supporters say is a necessary move toward lowering the cost of prescription drugs in the U.S. The move comes after the pharmaceutical industry lost a court battle over the issue and as the Biden administration, like previous administrations, struggles to address drug prices. Other states are likely to follow suit. Yet there is no assurance the gambit will work, given the means the pharmaceutical industry has to obstruct it.
To sort out the issues and unknowns, STAT spoke with Jane Horvath, a former health care policy strategist at Merck and a consultant who has previously worked with the National Academy for State Health Policy, a nonprofit that helps state officials and lawmakers develop programs to lower drug costs. This conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity.
It feels like importing drugs from Canada has been debated forever. I wrote about this more than two decades ago, although it’s clearly gained momentum recently. Why do you think that is?