Imagine
paying $50 for a prescription one month and then hundreds of dollars for that very same medication the next month.
Well, that's what some Americans could face when new US customs requirements take effect on October 22nd, potentially making it much harder to get lower cost prescription drugs from Canada.
Ken Hunter is the executive director of the campaign for personal prescription importation.
He is going to join us today to explain what's changing, who's at risk, and what it could mean for people already struggling to afford their medications.
Ken, thank you so much for being here today.
We really do appreciate it.
Well, thanks for having me.
On October 22nd, the U.S.
Customs and Border Protection Agency is implementing a brand new rule that will effectively eliminate the ability of consumers to buy their prescription medications from other countries.
And the reason why this is important, people buy from different countries because the price can be significantly lower versus what they would pay to U.S.
pharmacy.
So you have many people such as senior citizens, people on fixed incomes, people that also have high deductible health insurance plans, or uninsured that will now be priced out of the market of buying, being able to buy their pharmaceuticals.
And the cost can be significant.
You know, this isn't just
a, you know, $15, $20 a month increase.
We're talking hundreds of dollars, maybe thousands of dollars a month.
So for somebody, let's say a senior citizen that may take four prescription medications, you multiply that $700 price increase that they're about to face over those four or five prescriptions, they won't be able to afford that.
In other countries, there are typically policies where the pharmaceutical company, if they want access,
to the customers in that country will have price limitations of what they can charge.
So in Canada, there will be limitations on drugs, for instance, like eloquence, which is commonly used to help prevent blood clots.
That'll be a product that people could get in Canada for roughly about half the cost of what it would, you know, be if they went to US pharmacy to purchase it.
And so when you look at that, you're talking for a three month supply for a typical patient, they may pay like $560 for that from Canada and from the US, it's going to be over $1,000.
And that's one of the common ones, but you can also see for a drug that prevents blood clots, it is pretty much necessary for that person's health.
I am not sure what the purpose of this rule is for.
Now, when you read through the code, it's purportedly to help prevent the flow of illegal narcotics into the US like fentanyl, but also to collect more accurate tariffs on what people are buying from other countries.
Person in the US buys a drug from Canada.
They're going to, you know, not just get a lower price, but they're also going to have a tariff that they'll have to pay on it.
And even with that, it's going to be a much less expensive price than them buying it in the US.
So this rule.
is not only going to prevent the country from collecting additional tariff fees, but it's going to put people's health at risk.
And that's why we've been asking the administration to either pause this rule or to exempt personal pharmaceuticals from it.
Yes.
Mark Polkan, a representative from Wisconsin, was one of the leaders of creating a letter that 71 Democrat members of the House signed asking for this rule.
specifically to be paused or dropped.
On the Republican side, there were three Florida House members that signed a similar kind of bill.
And what we're asking consumers to do is put pressure on Congress, who can then put pressure on the administration to pause this rule.
One of the best things that somebody could do is, you know, write to their senators, Ron Johnson, Tammy Baldwin, and ask them to participate in this effort to stop this damaging rule from taking effect.
He is the executive director of the campaign for personal prescription importation.
We are discussing how a new US customs requirement that takes effect on October 22nd could change how people are getting their prescription medications and how much they would actually pay.
Now, Ken, you've talked a little bit about the cost that people would incur because of this change.
What are you actually hearing from people who depend on these medications and what happens if they suddenly just can't afford them?
Our organization has about 175,000 members and it climbs every single day by several thousand, typically.
As word gets out about this more and more, people start to realize what they're facing.
So within this, there aren't a lot of options that people will have once the time comes where.
you know the drug their drug access is cut off from other countries and you know kind of to to answer your question a bit more what somebody might have to do is stock up now if they're able to get their pharmacist or their personal doctor to go and give them an additional prescription but try to get the drugs into your mailbox by October 22nd.
Son, I'm
sure did I answer your question as much as you need
No, no, that's fantastic I appreciate that because I think you know when rules are changing this rapidly and nobody really understands why the rules are actually changing I'm not sure there are many more options than that, right?
You just you have to make sure that you're asking the right questions and asking your doctor now This administration says that it's working to lower prescription drug prices while the this new customs policy could actually make
lower cost medications harder to obtain.
Those two things don't reconcile with my brain when I hear them, when I say them out loud and when I read them.
So can you explain what that means exactly and how we can actually reconcile that?
Yes.
Well, President Trump has come out as being pro-importation from Canada in the past.
If you remember when the state of Florida was trying to set up
their program.
He was very much in support of it, specifically calling out the fact that the drugs are less costly in Canada.
So I would say he's in support of this.
I would also
Wonder if of all the millions of rules that are proposed within the government if this is something that's hit the radar in the White House.
Now, I know there have been some media reports that have just in the past day or so gotten some comments from the White House on this.
And what they have said is, you know, stating that the president has done a lot of work so far to lower the cost of prescription medication in the United States.
And you could say in an aggregate, that's potentially true.
However, there are only specific drugs that are really focused on by the administration with, for instance, their most favored nation drug rules.
You may have, for instance, that senior citizen that is on eloquence that prevents blood thinners, I mean, that's a blood thinner that prevents clots, may not be able to get a lower cost version of that in the United States.
The patent on it is for a couple more years, so they would have to buy brand name eloquence at full retail price in the US.
If for their dosage, they may not have that option except if they wanted to pay a tremendous amount more per month in the US to buy it.
If they go to Canada, they have the option of being able to get generic eloquence, which first of all, that's one area where they could save money.
But some patients do require the actual brand name drug because that works most effective for them.
So buying it from Canada is going to be at roughly half the price of buying it in the United States.
So when you look at somebody who might be on the $2,000 a month social security benefit, there isn't much wiggle room in there to all of a sudden decide, yeah, I can afford another several hundred dollars to several thousand dollars per month.
So even though the administration has done some work,
Towards this and you know, their their mind may be in the correct spot on this I don't believe that this rule goes and plays out for what president trump is really trying to do This is a solution that's available right now for people We don't need to wait for factories to be built in the u.s To go and manufacture more pharmaceuticals, etc.
You can get your medicines today
And that's what's being cut off and there's really no need for it to be.
And that's why I wonder is this something that the president may not even know about because it sounds to me like it goes against what his philosophy is on this.
And Ken, finally, and we've alluded to this just a little bit as we've been chatting here this morning, but here in Wisconsin, we don't have an exact count of how many residents are purchasing their medications from Canada.
What we do know is that people are struggling with their prescription costs and they support getting their medications from Canada.
So if you were talking to people in Wisconsin or across the country, what is the first thing that you would tell them that they should be doing right this very minute as they prepare for this act?
October 22nd deadline.
One of the things they should do right away is talk to their doctor to get a prescription for their medication and try to get it filled from a pharmacy ASAP.
The drugs need to be in their mailbox by October 22nd to not be subject to this rule should it go forward as planned.
So that's the immediate thing that I would advise to anybody.
Also, many physicians are very aware of how people are struggling to afford medications.
And they very much work with you on, is there a different type of medication you can take?
Is there a generic, another one to try?
I would say for somebody that's also facing the situation of being cut off,
Talk with your doctor, see if there are alternatives that you may be able to try that could be effective.
However, that being said, many people have already gone down that road with their physicians and they know what drugs will work for them specifically and for their metabolism.
So people are really stuck at the point now of having to perhaps stock up or
If this rule goes into effect as planned, they may need to travel to another country to personally pick up prescriptions.
But when you think about it, you can only order a 90-day supply at a time.
So for somebody, especially a senior who may not be very mobile, they can't be expected to drive across the border to Canada multiple times a year.
And even if they were able to, think of that additional cost.
So that's why we've been telling people, talk to your doctors, get a prescription and try to stock up in case it's a prolonged battle to go and get this rule paused or overturned.
He is the executive director of the campaign for personal prescription importation.
Ken, thank you so much for joining us and shedding some light on what this new rule change could actually mean coming up on October 22nd.
It's approaching.
We're going to keep an eye on it.
We're going to see what happens next.
And for people who depend on these medications, this is about a lot more than just saving money.
It's about being able to afford prescriptions that they absolutely need.
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