Healthy Colorado – Colorado seeking drug prescription plan with Canada
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Right now, the state is seeking approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to import prescription drugs from Canada, which would save Coloradans money.
Importing lower-priced prescription drugs from Canada would significantly reduce drug costs for Coloradans. The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Finance estimates the average cost savings would be about 65%.
Colorado's Canadian Drug Importation Program has been in the works for years. In 2019, the legislature passed a law authorizing the state to seek federal approval to establish an importation program. The next year, the federal policy changed to allow FDA-authorized programs to import certain prescription drugs from Canada to the United States.
State officials say dozens of commonly used, life-saving drugs are eligible to be imported from Canada. In the past, Governor Jared Polis has said drug costs are so high that nearly 1 in 3 Coloradans do not take their prescription drugs as directed. Those patients are either taking less or spacing them out because they cannot afford to buy more.
The submission to the FDA is the first step in requesting federal approval to operate Colorado's Canadian Drug Importation Program. It's unclear how long that proposal review could take.
