TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Gov. Ron DeSantis has announced a proposal to create a drug importation program for Florida, allowing prescription drugs to be sold to residents at a much lower cost.
Gov. DeSantis made the announcement Wednesday in The Villages.
“One of the biggest drivers of this country’s out of control healthcare spending is the cost of prescription drugs,” said Gov. DeSantis. “While our prices remain high, our neighbors in Canada are spending significantly less for the same drugs."
He has proposed to create a prescription drug importation program for Florida that would offer access to FDA-approved prescription drugs that have been imported from Canada, allowing the drugs to be sold to Floridians at a "much lower cost."
In 2003, Congress passed the Medicare Modernization Act to allow U.S. wholesalers and pharmacists to import prescription drugs from Canada, but only if the federal Department of Health and Human services authorizes it.
So far, the department has refused to do so.
"These price disparities are indefensible and inexcusable and I am ready to act," DeSantis said.
Gov. DeSantis says he will work in conjunction with the Trump Administration and the Florida Legislature to create this program and ensure appropriate regulatory protections are in place.
