Cheaper Canadian Prescription Drugs Sought By Gov. DeSantis

LAKELAND, FL — Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to move closer to getting the go-ahead from the federal government to import prescription drugs from Canada to Florida.

At a news conference held in Lakeland Friday at the LifeScience Logistics Distribution Center, DeSantis reminded reporters of a bill he signed about two years ago that would bring inexpensive prescriptions from Canada.

“Basically, these are the same drugs, you just get them at a fraction of the price compared to what you do in the U.S. market,” he said told reporters. “We did that because we understood the need that a lot of folks were feeling, and certainly the government—the amount of money we spend at the state level—on prescription drugs is outrageous.”

DeSantis discussed the prescription drug prices in the U.S. with former President Trump in 2019, he mentioned. He blamed Big Pharma for the reason it has not happened yet. He said it would disrupt the current market with its artificially high prices. U.S. News reported that Trump gave this import plan the green light last year. Colorado and several New England states want the same as DeSantis.

In November, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, an industry trade group, filed suit in federal court in Washington, D.C., to stop the drug-purchasing initiatives, the news outlet reported.

If the plan is approved by the Biden Administration, which Biden expressed support for the idea during the presidential campaign, drugmakers said it would diminish efforts to keep their medicines safe.

DeSantis has hope that it will soon receive approval from President Biden.

"This has been under review for six months. If we weren’t denied last week we should assume it is approved," DeSantis said. "We just want to make it clear to everybody that we did all the homework we needed to do."

DeSantis tweeted the following after the Lakeland press conference: