U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and John McCain (R-AZ) led a bipartisan congressional call on Monday for the Trump administration to use existing authorities to rein in prescription drug costs.
Grassley and McCain were joined by U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) in a letter urging Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney to use existing authorities, like certifying some imported prescription drugs from Canada, to help control drug costs.
Mulvaney has acknowledged discussions about potential executive or administration solutions to curb rising prescription drug prices, the letter noted, and Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price recently hosted listening sessions to explore possible solutions.
“We write to express our support for such efforts that could provide immediate relief to Americans,” the letter states. “… The administration has an opportunity to use existing statutory authority to quickly restore competition to the market with the introduction of cheaper, imported alternatives.”
In addition to using existing statutory authority, the senators urged Mulvaney to explore additional options for executive action.
“We have worked together on bipartisan legislation that would address skyrocketing drug prices, including bills to allow for personal importation of medications from Canada, where drug prices are, on average, half the cost they are in the United States, and bills that would deter pharmaceutical companies from blocking cheaper generic alternatives from entering the marketplace,” the letter states.
McCain and Klobuchar previously introduced the bipartisan Safe and Affordable Drugs from Canada Act, which would require the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to establish a program that allows consumers to personally import up to a 90-day supply of prescription drugs from a Canadian pharmacy.
“While we pursue these legislative options in Congress, we strongly encourage you to take executive or administrative action to reduce the ever-increasing financial burden of prescription drugs for millions of Americans,” the letter states. “We have previously outlined ways that the Administration could implement such strategies in a targeted manner that satisfies rigorous safety standards.”
The senators urged Mulvaney to work with Price to consider action allowing drugs to be imported from Canada when the drug is off patent or no longer marketed in the United State, when there are significant and unexplained price increases, when there is no direct competitor, and when the drug is produced in another country by the name brand manufacturer that developed the drug.