Sen. Heinrich now favors prescription drug import bill
New safeguards added to measure persuade senator to drop his opposition
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, who was criticized by some fellow Democrats last month for opposing a measure that would make it easier to buy inexpensive prescription drugs from Canada, backed a new drug importation bill Tuesday, saying it addresses his concerns about safety.
The bill, announced in a press conference at the U.S. Capitol, is sponsored by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
The measure would authorize the secretary of Health and Human Services to allow importation from other advanced countries in two years.
The proposal would require foreign companies selling prescription drugs in the U.S. to register with the Food and Drug Administration. Patients also would be required to provide a valid prescription to the pharmacy.
The bill would give the FDA authority to shut down “bad actors” who are proved to be fraudulent or unscrupulous. Many Americans, frustrated by skyrocketing drug prices, hope to legally buy drugs from Canada, where prices are often half — or less — of those in U.S. pharmacies.
Heinrich was among 13 Democratic senators who voted last month against paving the way to lower prescription drug prices in the U.S. by importing drugs from Canada. That measure, also sponsored by Sanders, failed narrowly.
But on Tuesday, Heinrich said the new bill contains safeguards the previous legislation did not.
Consumers “should not have to choose between safety and being able to access the critical lifesaving pharmaceutical drugs that they need to maintain their health care,” Heinrich said at the news conference.
“Details matter, and I think this legislation gets the details right. It preserves the sort of system that has given us the safest pharmaceutical supply in the world while at the same time using a pre-market, marketbased approach to driving down those costs.”
The bill has 19 Senate co-sponsors, but none are Republicans — at least not yet. Sanders told reporters he expects Republicans to co-sponsor the bill eventually, as their constituents call on them to support it. Twelve Republican senators voted in favor of the drug importation amendment that failed narrowly last month.
But the legislation will face stiff opposition from the pharmaceutical industry, which contends that foreign drugs would taint the U.S. medicine supply.
“Do we expect the pharmaceutical industry will spend an enormous sum of money to oppose this? Of course we do,” Sanders said Tuesday.
President Donald Trump championed prescription drug reform on the campaign trail last year, but he has not pushed for any specific legislation early in his first term.
“We need to find pragmatic, realistic ways to drive down pharmaceutical costs with freemarket mechanisms, and that’s what this legislation does,” Heinrich said. “I am more optimistic than I have ever been that we’re going to get something done on this. This is far overdue. Our constituents are clamoring for this.”