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President Trump’s protectionism gives Americans the same “protection” that the wolf gave to the lamb.
The Food and Drug Administration and Customs Border Protection will effectively ban almost all personal prescription imports in January. Millions of Americans who rely on Canadian pharmacies will be whipsawed by much higher prices. The new policy is spurred by Trump’s hostility to Canada and his devotion to protecting Big Pharma profits.
This ban was supposed to be enacted on Oct. 22 until the Trump admin backed down this past Thursday, worried about raising drug prices two weeks before the midterms. But all the delay does is kick the can down the road.
Trump often brags that the US has the world’s lowest drug prices, but this is an illusory triumph. In reality, prescription drug prices here are roughly triple the cost in other affluent nations. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey found the highest rate ever of Americans worried about affording prescription drugs — six out of 10 adults. Almost half said they had not filled prescriptions, skipped doses, or took other steps to curtail their costs.
I’m one of the Americans in the crosshairs of this trade battle. Eight years ago, I was diagnosed with glaucoma. With daily eye drops and regular ophthalmologist visits, my vision has remained fairly stable. I’ve tried numerous prescription eye drops, but Lumigan is the only effective one that doesn’t give me butt-kicking headaches. Lumigan costs many times more in the US than in Canada.
I found a trustworthy Canadian online pharmacy that delivers Lumigan for barely a third of the US price after I provided it with a copy of my prescription from my Maryland ophthalmologist. That is typical of the savings pocketed by Americans purchasing from licensed Canadian pharmacies, according to the Campaign for Personal Prescription Importation.
Six years ago, when he was running for re-election, Trump touted a plan to permit state governments to “go to Canada and buy your drugs for a fraction of the price” in the US. Then-Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar certified that permitting states to import Canadian drugs did not pose additional risk to public health and “will result in a significant reduction in the cost of covered products to the American consumer.” But that program was stillborn in large part due to opposition from US pharmaceutical manufacturers.
Prior to turning 65, I could use various discounts and rebates to get Lumigan in the US for much cheaper than the full retail price. Once a person becomes eligible for Medicare, however, no discounts or rebates are permitted. Medicare turbo-charges drug price inflation while often providing only an illusion of a safety net for recipients.
My Canadian pharmacy sells me bottles for about $71 a month, or $852 a year. The US price is $265 a month. That means the annual US price would be $3,180. My Medicare coverage only kicks in after a recipient has paid $2,100 a year, so I’d pay that much out-of-pocket and the government would cover the rest. And good luck finding a discount.
In sum: I save a thousand dollars a year by buying Lumigan abroad without coverage from Medicare.
Many of the Americans doing the same thing are also over 65 and are paying out-of-pocket — all of which, by the way, provides savings for Medicare.
But Big Pharma lobbyists claim that permitting Americans to import directly the drugs they need is too risky. That’s snake oil. Tainted eye drops have been a problem in recent years: The FDA recently recalled almost 4 million bottles due to possible contamination. But those were produced in Illinois and California, not the Yukon or Nova Scotia.
And Canadian pharmacies are certainly safe enough for Americans. Since 2002, the Canadian International Pharmacy Association has set standards for pharmacies involved in exporting drugs to the US. Those Canadian outlets have a better record than many of the top pharmaceutical companies that have paid tens of billions of dollars to federal and state governments in penalties and settlements for their illegal conduct in recent decades. The Drug Enforcement Administration has collected plenty of scalps from pharmacies or drug companies that violated federal laws on controlled substances.
If Trump bans Americans from purchasing their prescriptions abroad, I will survive. The patents on Lumigan expire next summer and I expect the price will fall sharply. But hundreds of thousands or maybe millions of other Americans reliant on other drugs will suffer. Tim Smith, general manager of the Canadian International Pharmacy Association, said that people “are coming to us because they can’t afford the drugs where they live.” Big Pharma lobbyists who warn of the risks of imports ignore the risk of pricing Americans out of the market for drugs that can save them from dire medical fates.
I am looking for no subsidy or favors from Washington. All I want is the freedom to purchase the drugs I need without getting blindsided by Uncle Sam. If it would be legal for me to purchase Lumigan from a Vancouver, Wash., pharmacy, why would the feds ban me from making the same purchase from Vancouver, Canada?
James Bovard is the author of 11 books, including “Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty.”