Florida may soon be able to save on the cost of prescription drugs under the State’s Canadian Prescription Drug Importation Program. The program allows some prescription drugs to be imported into the State from Canada including those to treat some chronic illnesses such as asthma, COPD, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and mental illness.
In 2019, DeSantis signed into law a bill that began the process that would allow Florida to import drugs from Canada pending Federal approval.
Since then, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, petitioned the Federal Count to prohibit the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to allow states to import prescription drugs.
During a May 28 press conference in Lakeland, Gov. Ron DeSantis called on the Biden Administration to dismiss that lawsuit.
“It has been under review enough,” DeSantis said of the federal approval process. “We have followed every regulation, we’ve met every requirement, and we want now to get this final approval so that we can finally move forward.”
On May 29, President Joe Biden’s administration filed a motion in federal court to dismiss the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America lawsuit. The dismissal would clear the way for Florida to begin bringing certain drugs from Canada into the State.
Under the Canadian Prescription Drug Importation Program the imported drugs would initially be for those under the care of Florida’s Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD), Department of Children and Families (DCF), Department of Corrections (FDC), and Department of Health (DOH).
The Program would later be expanded to include providing imported prescription drugs for Medicaid members across the state.
According to estimates, the Program could save the state between $80 to $150 million during the first year.
