Drug Importation in New Hampshire: An Overview
Synopsis:
In January 2020, the New Hampshire legislature introduced SB685, which would require the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services to design a wholesale importation program for prescription drugs from Canada by or on behalf of the state and obtain federal approval for the program. In June 2020, SB685 was added to HB1280, which included several other prescription drug initiatives. The bill was signed into law in July 2020.
Current status:
New Hamphire's legislature approved HB1280 in June 2020, and Governor Sununu signed it into law the following month.
How should we evaluate this program?
The program hasn't started yet, or even been designed, so there's no way to measure whether it saved money or kept patients safe, both promises made at the time of passage. However, the 2003 Medicare Modernization Act contains requirements for safety requirements built into any such program.
Official actions and statements
HB1280: Text of the Bill
SB685: Text of the Bill | New Hampshire State Senate hearing
Testimony opposing SB685:
- The Best Medicines Coalition, January 21, 2020
- The Partnership for Safe Medicines, January 2020
Background / resources
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Op-eds from the Experts
This editorial by the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board was published in The Sun Sentinel on December 9, 2020. The Editorial Board consists of Editorial Page Editor Rosemary O’Hara, Dan Sweeney, Steve Bousquet and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson. There Go Those Cheaper Drugs. Remember Florida’s plan to save money by importing prescription drugs in bulk from…
This editorial by Joyce Nelson appeared in Counter Punch on December 4, 2020. Nelson is a researcher and writer whose work appears in a wide range of magazines, newspapers and websites.
This editorial, written by Earl D. Fowlkes Jr., appeared in the Washington Blade on December 4, 2020. Fowlkes is the president and CEO of the Center for Black Equity.
In this editorial, which was posted on December 2, 2020, Citizens Against Government Waste decries the expense and futility drug importation.
In this October 23, 2020 editorial, which was published in the The American Journal of Managed Care, Michael Abrams explains why drug importation will not save patients money. Abrams is the co-founder and managing partner of Numerof & Associates.
In this analysis, which was published in Lexology on October 13, 2020, three global regulatory experts examine barriers to drug importation.
In this August 14, 2020 editorial, Best Medicines Coalition chair John Adams explains why Canadian importation will not lower U.S. medicine prices—and why the “concept of cheap drugs from Canada has never been anything more than a political hallucination.”
In this July 28, 2020 editorial published in the WasteWatcher blog, Elizabeth Wright argues that the administration’s Executive Order will “encourage more illegal behavior and a greater production of counterfeit drugs from countries like China, Mexico, and India.” Wright is the Director of Health and Public Policy for Citizens Against Government Waste
This editorial by Andrew Spiegel was published in The International Business Times on March 23, 2020. Mr. Spiegel is executive director of the Global Colon Cancer Association and Chair of the World Patient Alliance. President Trump, Price Controls Can’t Combat Coronavirus The U.S. outbreak of novel coronavirus, COVID-19, has quickly evolved into a national nightmare.…
In this editorial in The Globe and Mail, Ujjal Dosanjh, formerly a federal minister of health and a premier of British Columbia, explains that drug manufacturers have no incentive to sell Canadian provinces more medicine to fill the needs of U.S. residents. Importation will lead to drug shortages in Canada and counterfeit drug trafficking to the U.S.