Decision 2024: Harris & Trump Both Support Prescription Importation

"Remarkably, both candidates agree on one thing - allowing Americans to access affordable prescription medications through importation”

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, August 13, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Today the Campaign for Personal Prescription Importation released the below policy analysis of historic support for American prescription importation in advance of the 2024 Presidential Election by both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

“In this age of contentious and divisive politics, it is worth spotlighting when the major party presidential candidates agree on a policy as impactful on Americans as prescription drug price affordability. Vice President Kamala Harris and Former President Donald Trump have been active in bold policy initiatives to lower drug prices for Americans. Specifically, both made substantial efforts to ensure Americans' access to import affordable and safe prescription medications, the one policy that could immediately lower drug prices for Americans,” says CPPI Executive Director, Jack Pfeiffer.

Americans continue to struggle with drug price affordability despite efforts of both the Biden/Harris and Trump administrations. Eighty-two percent of Americans say drug prices are unreasonable, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) [https://www.kff.org/health-costs/press-release/3-charts-about-drug-prices-in-the-united-states/]. The cost of prescription drugs in the U.S. has surged nearly 40% over the past decade, outstripping the pace of inflation according to a recent GoodRx report. At least one-quarter of Americans have a prescription that is not covered by insurance. The average deductible has nearly doubled over the past decade from $917 to $1,644. Access to brick-and-mortar pharmacies has been shrinking with pharmacy closures making news weekly. Legislative attempts to cap insulin prices and manufacturer programs to provide discounts on expensive therapies have not led to a substantial decrease in overall drug costs. Given these realities, it is no wonder that Americans would like to see affordability addressed by increasing access to the importation of affordable prescription medications.

The American public has long supported prescription importation from Canada as a solution to high drug costs in the U.S. Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) polling [https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/10-faqs-on-prescription-drug-importation/#:~:text=According%20to%20KFF%20polling%20from,from%20Canada%20(Figure%201)] has found 78% of the public favors allowing Americans to buy prescription drugs imported from licensed Canadian pharmacies. Prescription importation has broad support across party lines – 75% of Democrats, 82% of Independents, and 75% of Republicans. Ninety-three percent of CPPI survey [https://www.personalimportation.org/post/survey-reveals-americans-saving-by-ordering-prescriptions-medications-from-canada] respondents say that addressing the high cost of prescription drugs in the U.S. is important to how they will vote in the next election. What’s more, approximately five million Americans already import their medications due to high costs according to KFF [https://kffhealthnews.org/news/trump-approves-final-plan-to-import-drugs-from-canada-for-a-fraction-of-the-price/].

Medications from Canada cost up to 90% less than the price charged in the United States, with the top 60 drugs sold in America costing nearly four times as much as Canada according to data from the U.S. Health and Human Services [https://aspe.hhs.gov/reports/comparing-prescription-drugs]. CPPI’s drug price comparisons [https://www.personalimportation.org/post/new-comparison-prescription-rx-prices-50-90-less-expensive-from-canada-than-leading-u-s-pharmacy] of the most sought-after brand-name prescription medications show that average Canadian drug prices are 50% to 90% less expensive than leading U.S. pharmacy prices. Americans who import their medications report saving [https://www.personalimportation.org/post/survey-reveals-americans-saving-by-ordering-prescriptions-medications-from-canada] an average of $4,920 a year.

Vice President Kamala Harris has been a consummate supporter of lowering drug prices for Americans. In her biography, “The Truths We Hold,” Harris recounts that one of her first votes in the U.S. Senate was to ensure Americans' access to prescription importation [CLICK FOR AUDIO]. She was a co-sponsor of Senator Bernie Sanders’ 2017 “Affordable and Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act [https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/469/cosponsors?s=3&r=319].”

More recently, with President Joe Biden, Harris has led the charge in fighting for and implementing the Inflation Reduction Act. Their administration has also continued to coordinate efforts to enact President Trump’s executive order to empower states seeking to import prescription medication. Now poised as the presumptive Democratic Party presidential nominee, Harris could be the president to finally ensure affordable prescription medication is available to Americans through personal importation.

Former President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order on Increasing Drug Importation to Lower Prices for American Patients [https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/07/29/2020-16624/increasing-drug-importation-to-lower-prices-for-american-patients] in 2020, opening the door for Americans to access safe prescription drugs from abroad. When Trump’s Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, Alex Azar, approved a regulatory pathway for wholesale importation, it was the first time ever that an HHS Secretary certified that importation from Canada was safe and resulted in significant savings for consumers.

The Biden/Harris Administration issued a subsequent executive order [https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/07/09/executive-order-on-promoting-competition-in-the-american-economy/] in July 2021 directing the Food and Drug Administration to work with states to develop a program allowing prescription medications to be imported from Canada. In January 2024, the Food and Drug Administration [https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-authorizes-floridas-drug-importation-program] (FDA) approved Florida’s State Importation Plan, confirming what millions of Americans already know and experience: that importation from Canada is a safe, effective way to access affordable prescription medications.

Harris or Trump could be the first President to deliver life-saving affordable medications to Americans through personal prescription importation. Clear immediate guidance from Harris or Trump should advance personal prescription importation ensuring Americans the opportunity to save money and access to life-saving medications.

John Pfeiffer
CPPI
+1 202-641-8574
jack.pfeiffer@personalimportation.org
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