WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a press conference today in the U.S. Capitol, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) joined colleagues from both the Senate and House to unveil new legislation to allow the safe importation of prescription drugs into the United States.

The legislation comes at a time when in Canada and other major countries, the same medications – manufactured by the same companies in the same factories – are available for a fraction of the price compared to the United States. In 2014, Americans spent $1,112 per person on prescription drugs while Canadians spent $772 and Danes spent $325. Meanwhile, five major drug manufacturers made more than $50 billion in profits in 2015, and nearly one in three Americans could not afford the medicine they were prescribed at some point in their lives.

            “The rising costs of prescription drugs in this country is a crisis – and it’s one that people in Maine confront every day when they walk into a drug store or when they get their bill. But it’s a crisis that can be avoided, too. And that’s why this legislation is so important,” Senator King said. “By pursuing a market-based solution, and by opening up to competition what is now a closed market by a government-sanctioned monopoly, we can drive down the price of prescriptions for people across the country and do so without sacrificing safety. That’s a common-sense solution and a win-win for the American people.”

To watch the press conference, click HERE.

The legislation would instruct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to put forward regulations allowing wholesalers, pharmacies and individuals to import qualifying prescription drugs from licensed Canadian sellers. After two years, the Secretary would have the authority to permit importation from countries in the Organizations for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) with standards for the approval and sale of prescription drugs that are comparable to those in the United States.

Legally imported drugs under the bill must be purchased from an FDA-certified foreign seller and must have the same active ingredient, route of administration and strength as drugs approved in the United States. The new agreement also cracks down on rogue online pharmacies.

Millions of Americans have been directly importing drugs from overseas for years. There have been no reported instances of serious adverse incidents or deaths from international pharmacies that require a valid prescription, according to a 2015 report prepared by PharmacyChecker for the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

Allowing the importation of safe and affordable prescription drugs is overwhelmingly supported by the American people with 71 percent in favor of allowing Americans to buy prescription drugs from Canada.

Organizations supporting the bill include: Alliance for Retired Americans, American Federation of Teachers, Center for Medicare Advocacy (CMA), CREDO, DailyKos, Economic Policy Institute, Justice in Aging, MoveOn, NAACP, National Center for Health Research, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, National Organization for Women, PharmacyChecker.com, Prescription Justice, Progressive Change Campaign Committee, RxRights and Social Security Works.

Senator King is a proponent of making prescription drugs more affordable for people across Maine and the nation. In January, he reintroduced the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act, legislation that would lower prescription drug prices for seniors by allowing Medicare to negotiate the price of prescription drugs. Current law only allows for bargaining by private plan sponsors and bans Medicare from doing so. This legislation would help cut costs for nearly 41 million seniors enrolled in Medicare Part D and boost Medicare savings.

Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Bob Casey (D-Penn.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) as well as Reps. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) and Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) joined Senator King at the press conference today. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) are also original co-sponsors of the legislation.

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