Senators Push For Cheap Canadian-Sourced Prescription Drugs

A bipartisan group is pushing Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to allow imports of cheaper prescription drugs from Canada. Stat, meanwhile, reports on generic manufacturing plant closures’ impact on the Biden administration’s effort to boost drug supplies.

Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Angus King (I-Maine) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) sent a letter to the secretary on Monday asking him to back policies permitting states and tribes to import certain prescription drugs from Canada. 

In a letter, the senators argued that personal importation could deliver “a critical solution” to lowering medication costs, a goal of the Biden administration. The letter cited that almost 30 percent of adults say they don’t take their prescribed medications due to the cost.

“Americans should be able to obtain affordable medications, and expanding access to safe and affordable drugs in Canada can make a difference by providing direct relief to the millions of Americans who are struggling to afford the increasing cost of prescription drugs,” the letter reads. 

“As the Administration considers options for lowering the cost of prescription drugs for patients, we urge your support for permanent solutions that will allow Americans to safely and personally import their medication,” the senators wrote.

The senators specifically called on Becerra to support the Safe and Affordable Drugs from Canada Act, reintroduced by Klobuchar and Grassley in February, that would permit drugs to be imported from the northern country.

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