Washington (AFP)
The Trump administration announced Wednesday a plan to allow Americans to have legal access to drugs in Canada, where they are cheaper than in the United States, while health insurance promises to be one of the key issues of the 2020 presidential campaign.
Americans pay an average of $ 1,200 a year for prescription drugs, according to the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development), more than any other nationality.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly rebelled against the high price of drugs in his country, and supports a Senate bill that would cap costs.
"Americans deserve protection from high drug prices, and they deserve a health system that provides affordable, patient-centered care," said Alex Azar, the Minister of Health.
The plan proposed by his ministry and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) provides two pathways.
The first would be to propose a rule that would authorize pilot projects developed by states, wholesalers and pharmacists to import certain drugs from Canada, even if they would be limited to certain categories.
The second is for the FDA to work with manufacturers looking to import versions of drugs they sell abroad to the United States, "potentially allowing them to offer a lower price than that required by their current distribution contracts. ".
These measures could include the insulin needed to treat diabetes as well as drugs for rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease and cancer, according to a statement.
No date for the implementation of this plan has been provided. The project will certainly face the opposition of the pharmaceutical industry in the United States.
Pharmaceutical companies say that high prices are a consequence of the costs of innovation, but a 2016 study by Harvard Medical School blamed the US patent system, which gives manufacturers "government-protected monopolies" through the exclusivity that has lasted for decades.
The study also noted that unlike almost all other developed countries, the US system allowed manufacturers to set their own prices rather than having to negotiate with a national health insurance system.
© 2019 AFP