The Trump administration is moving to clear the way to import some prescription drugs from Canada in an effort to lower prices.
In a statement issued by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on Wednesday, the administration wants to "allow safe importation of certain prescription drugs to lower prices and reduce out of pocket costs for American patients."
The department outlined two pathways for importing the drugs into the U.S. In one initiative, the FDA and HHS will use existing federal law to set up pilot projects from states or wholesalers. Separately, the FDA will work on safety guidelines for drug manufacturers who want to import any drugs they sell in foreign countries to the U.S. market.
While this is a step forward in lowering prescription drug costs, medical ethicist Art Caplan told Boston Public Radio Thursday that the move is nothing more than a "band aid."
"Bringing in drugs from Canada that have lower prices, I'm not against it, but it doesn't fix what's wrong here. It just turns Canada into a supplier for us," he said.
Caplan noted Canada's population is dwarfed by America's, potentially putting a strain on their production.
"I suspect they'd get overwhelmed for things like insulin," he said.
Caplan said there is a "more radical" proposal from the administration to cap price increases, but it likely won't go anywhere.
"That one's getting lobbied to death left and right. That isn't just a Trump failure, that's a Congress failure. The lobbyists are hard at work undercutting that, spending a fortune. From pharma, and bio-tech industries, they don't want price caps of any sort."
Caplan said a more beneficial first step would be to hold hearings on why prescription drugs in America cost so much higher than they do elsewhere.
The Trump administration announcement could take years to implement, and risks being challenged in court.
