Study: Prescription drug imports may not bring much consumer savings
Study: Prescription drug imports may not bring much consumer savings
By Tom Coulter
Wyoming Tribune Eagle
Via Wyoming News Exchange
CHEYENNE – After lawmakers voted in March for a study to be conducted on the feasibility of Wyoming importing prescription drugs from Canada and other countries, state health officials reported back Thursday with mixed findings on the value of such a program.
Wyoming could potentially save up to $10 million annually on prescriptions drugs if all state employees opted into using drugs priced from Canada, rather than their current prescriptions.
But the full picture is more complicated, Wyoming Department of Health policy analyst Franz Fuchs told members of the Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Committee on Thursday.
While the state could potentially save some general funds through an importation program, Fuchs questioned whether much of those savings would be passed on to consumers. He pointed to messy supply chains and complicated group insurance formulas that could ultimately lead to less of a price drop.
“Even if we successfully distribute the drugs to the pharmacies across the state, and even if they are placed on formularies, we don’t know how much that price difference will be kept by the insurers,” Fuchs said. “So ... I think the guarantee of savings, from a consumer perspective, is pretty thin.”
A few other states have also beaten Wyoming to looking at a drug importation program to lower prices. Florida has led the charge on establishing one, with President Donald Trump signing an executive order last month aiming to advance the Sunshine State’s program.
Fuchs, in his presentation to lawmakers, said Wyoming officials have spoken with Canadian delegates, who were not enthused by the drug importation plans being developed in the U.S.
“Once it starts getting exploited at scale, they would probably create export controls and shut down that supply crossing the border, not to mention the drug companies wising up and imposing some restrictions on their own,” Fuchs said. “So at the end of the day, it is not a sustainable system. We cannot expect these prices to last forever.”
After hearing the presentation, lawmakers were lukewarm on an importation plan, given some of the complications. Committee co-chair Sen. Charles Scott, R-Casper, said “it really comes down to the state government is not as efficient a smuggler as an individual is, and particularly our larger brethren will have effects that will force a reaction.”
“This is a problem that is probably beyond the reach of state government,” Scott said. “National governments are going to have to solve it, because the rest of the world, frankly, is exploiting us.”
The potential for an importation plan also drew pushback from the Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police. Terry Armitage, representing the group during the meeting, argued the imports would lead to an increase in counterfeit and adulterated drugs.
While an importation program may not be the most effective way to address it in Wyoming, rising prescription prices remain an issue for many Americans, who, on average, pay more than residents of most other developed countries for the medicine they need.
During the meeting, Tom Lacock, associate state director of policy and communications for Wyoming AARP, pointed to research that’s found Wyoming’s drug prices increased 57% between 2012 and 2017.
“At the same time, annual income for Wyomingites actually increased only 2.7%,” Lacock said.
The problem can be especially acute for elderly populations. Last year, in an AARP Wyoming survey of 11,000 members, 70% responded that prescription drug prices are their top concern.
Though the presentation Thursday indicated its finding, the full study, which was mandated by the Legislature during its budget session earlier this year, is expected to be completed by Oct. 1.