Trump Admin To Give Americans Access To Cheaper Prescription Drugs… From Canada

Canadian flag with lot of medical pills isolated on black background
Canadian flag with lot of medical pills isolated on black background
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

So much for President Donald Trump’s “America first” motto.

Trump’s Health and Human Services department unveiled a plan on Wednesday that would “lay the foundation for the safe importation of certain drugs originally intended for foreign markets.”

Under the new plan, Americans would be allowed to import FDA-approved prescription drugs from Canada at a lower price than those sold in the U.S.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar claimed the plan was a pathway to ending “foreign freeloading.”

“Today’s announcement outlines the pathways the Administration intends to explore to allow safe importation of certain prescription drugs to lower prices and reduce out of pocket costs for American patients,” he said in a press release. “This is the next important step in the Administration’s work to end foreign freeloading and put American patients first.”

Americans have been traveling to Canada for drugs like insulin when the cost is too high to obtain them in the U.S. This plan would ostensibly make it easier for Americans to obtain cheaper drugs without having to cross the border.

Latest News

Notable Replies

  1. Eli Lilly is going to have to impose sanctions on HHS.

  2. HHS Secretary Alex Azar claimed the plan was a pathway to ending “foreign freeloading.”

    Does this mean that tRump will simultaneously declare Canada a part of the United States by an emergency Executive Order?

    I’ll believe the plan when or if drug prices actually come down. He’s promised a lot, especially to his base, and pretended he’s accomplished all of it when in fact its been one lie after another.
    image

  3. Avatar for eglot eglot says:

    Trudeau should troll Trump by threatening to stem the tide of Americans coming into Canada by building a wall-- and saying that Trump will pay for it.

  4. How long before Big Pharma begins targeting the GOP for restraint of trade or some such nonsense? Big Pharma has much deeper pockets. This might not go well for 2020.

  5. This is like getting up to change the channel despite knowing that there’s a remote on the side-table next to you. These fucking people will do anything to avoid the correct solutions in order to protect the profit margins of the donor class.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

96 more replies

Participants

Avatar for fgs Avatar for srfromgr Avatar for steviedee111 Avatar for doctorbiobrain Avatar for randyabraham Avatar for sniffit Avatar for tacoma Avatar for ralph_vonholst Avatar for gr Avatar for khaaannn Avatar for slimjim33 Avatar for tena Avatar for junebug Avatar for henk Avatar for southerndem Avatar for jacksonhts Avatar for tiowally Avatar for kelaine Avatar for thinski Avatar for PacificSparkles Avatar for csurz420 Avatar for paul_lukasiak Avatar for faydout Avatar for laparque

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: