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President Donald Trump has promised that the plan his administration rolled out Wednesday to bring in cheaper prescription drugs from Canada will immediately lower medication costs. Experts say the plan won’t work — and many write it off as a political stunt. Under the proposal, importers would need the cooperation of the Canadian government and the drug industry, both of which oppose it. Importers would have to take many expensive and complicated steps to prove to the FDA that importation wouldn’t harm Americans, and to weave through complex regulations and the intricacies of the U.S. health delivery system. (Karlin-Smith and Owermohle, 12/18)

Between the lines: Canada doesn't have nearly enough drugs to meet American demand, and even if it did, it doesn't want to send them to us at the expense of its own market. (Owens, 12/19)

Furthermore, the importation pathway available to states wouldn't include products like insulin or other complex and expensive biotech drugs. Azar acknowledged that limitation but argued that if the importation program were successful, Congress might consider changing the law to allow the importation of the biologic drugs, which require more careful handling in transport, such as cold storage, because they are produced from living organisms or parts of them. (Siddons, 12/18)

Kaiser Health News: Border Fight: Trump’s Plan To Import Cheaper Drugs From Canada Faces Hurdles

Nancy LeaMond, executive vice president of AARP, welcomed the administration’s move. “The ability to import lower-priced medicines would help states manage their ever-tightening budgets, save taxpayers’ money, and lower drug costs for its citizens,” she said in a statement. Yet critics say the administration’s plan ― offered in a 169-page proposed rule seeking comments from states, drugmakers and other stakeholders ― has more to do with President Donald Trump seeking to shore up reelection chances for 2020 than bringing dramatic changes to how people afford drugs. (Galewitz, 12/18)

President Trump’s plan to let states and drug wholesalers import medicines from Canada doesn’t apply to every single drug in the same way — and early indications suggest some drug makers have far more to lose than others. On Wednesday, the Trump administration began a long, regulatory march toward eventually allowing states to import drugs from Canada. While the implementation of that policy is likely to take months, if not years, four states have already passed laws directing their state administrations to submit importation plans to HHS for eventual approval. (Florko, 12/19)

The guidelines rolled out by Azar on Wednesday include a pathway for state governments to import Canadian drugs to be used by those receiving state-funded health care, such as Medicaid recipients and inmates in Florida’s prisons. Additionally, Azar said the federal government will also offer guidelines for American drug manufacturers to also import from Canada, eventually allowing American consumers to get cheaper drugs at local hospitals and pharmacies. Drugs that must be injected, like insulin, as well as controlled substances such as opioid painkillers, are excluded from Florida’s importation proposal. (Mahoney and Koh, 12/18)