Question

• Would the ability to import prescription drugs reduce the cost of medications, and if so, what are the pros or cons of allowing importation to occur?

Answer 1

Import of prescription drugs lowers the cost of medications in the USA

4 different proposals that aimed to legalize the import of prescription drugs were introduced in the USA, in the year 2004. While these did not pass the Congress, similar bills and proposals were again proposed in the year 2005. The Act called as MMA or Medicare Modernization Act was also enacted in the year 2003, which also created the new U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Taskforce. The objective of the task force is to report to Congress the various pros and cons of the safety of importing drugs. Through a provision, the USA could import drugs from Canada, when HHS certifies that the import will not threaten the safety and health of the American people. The Trump administration has also introduced a plan for the import of brand-labeled drugs from Canada.
The new treatments in the USA cost more than previously. Centralized negotiations ensure that the cost of medicines in other parts of the world, from where the USA wishes to import drugs (including Canada), is low. The MEDS or Medicine equity and Drug Safety Act made it possible for the wholesalers and pharmacies to import drugs, albeit from certain specific countries only. However, HHS certification is required.

A report by the HHS Task Force (in the year 2004 )stated that while the implementation might have its own costs, there will be some savings on the whole. The middlemen like the wholesales will be benefitted the most, while consumers would also gain from modest savings.

Pros of Drug Import in the USA are:

Saving of costs- importation will reduce the costs of drugs, as prescription drugs are pricier in the USA when compared to other parts of the world. Americans pay up to 5 times more for prescription drugs when compared to their counterparts in other parts of the world.

Increase in competition at home- The import of drugs will increase competition amongst pharmaceutical companies in the USA. This will provide for lesser costs of medicines and will also boost innovation.

Support of the state- Many different state officials have already supported the provision. These include state officials from states including Vermont, Iowa, Minnesota and North Dakota among others.

Import after certification- The HHS task force has stated that drug import can only be achieved through specific countries. These countries have quality and proper regulation systems in place, which can be compared to the quality control and inspection measures of the USA. For instance, HHS finds Canada to have rigorous control for drug approval and export. FDA also inspects the incoming medicines and their batches

Cons of import of drugs to the USA

Safety issues- the health of people in the USA will be endangered if genuine and certified medicines are not imported. Import also makes drugs prone to issues including narcotics trafficking, counterfeiting, bioterrorism, and others.

Lack of resources- Many medicines sold in the USA are manufactured abroad, as of now as well. FDA should be inspecting these companies every second year, at least, but this does not happen due to a lack of resources. FDA has around 100 investigators, who have a duty to inspect round 10 million parcels of medications that come to the USA each year. Also, the system is not very effective in tracking imported medicines.

Reduced research and development- When the pharmaceutical manufacturers in the USA do not gain ample profits, they will not be able to spend heavily in areas including research and development. Hence the creation of new drugs may become hard.

Liability concern- It would be hard for consumers in the USA to sue firms from abroad when a case occurs.