Trump Claims He Wants You to Buy Drugs From Canada. Really?
I can’t stand him. But hate him or love him, Americans — Democrats and Republicans — should applaud Trump’s executive order to permit personal prescription drug importation.
Of course, anyone who follows prescription drug affordability in the U.S. knows that Americans have already been using online pharmacies. In fact, PharmacyChecker.com has been in operation for close to two decades providing information that helps people buy safe and far more affordable medicine from Canada and other countries. Since 2003, through our online pharmacy verification and drug price comparisons, we provide the most comprehensive information for consumers who choose to safely import more affordable medicine for personal use. According to our research, brand name drug prices among verified international pharmacies in Canada are about 70% lower than in the U.S., and often 90% lower in other countries.
The executive order is issued pursuant to Section 804 of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act Part J, which makes it permissible to import a prescription drug as long as the drug doesn’t represent an “unreasonable risk” to the consumer. The order calls for waivers to be granted to individuals who want permission to import lower-cost prescription drugs.
According to data from the Kaiser Family Foundation, despite the federal prohibitions, about 8% of Americans say they have imported a prescription drug because of cost. As shown in peer-reviewed research and testing of drugs ordered online, medicines for personal import ordered from accredited international online pharmacies are shown to be as safe as those bought in U.S. pharmacies. A report by Roger Bate, PhD, published by the American Enterprise Institute, discusses that research, and the safety and policy issues related to importation and the Internet.
In short: even though the Executive Orders on drug prices are political theater, PharmacyChecker supports the new Trump administration executive order permitting importation of lower cost prescription drugs for personal use because it could help immediately. Details from the administration about how to obtain a waiver to import would be a great next step. We’ve heard Trump bluster about drug prices for three years. Let’s see if he will really stand up to Big Pharma instead of pretending to.
