New rule seeks to lower state prescription drug prices

Pauline Tyner said nine prescription drugs kept her living a normal, healthy life.

“That was my heart,” Tyner said. “That was my lungs. That was my carotid.”

The list goes on. Tyner said all those medications cost around $400 and she “can’t afford it.” But Tyner is not alone. There is now a new push to slash the costs you have to pay for prescription drugs.

The State of Florida’s initiative to import affordable prescription drugs from Canada had assistance from the Trump administration on Wednesday. A new rule will put costs in the states’ hands. The Health and Human Services secretary joined Gov. Ron DeSantis in Tallahassee.

“What we’re trying to do,” DeSantis said, “is build a pipeline between the Canadian system and our system.”

“A state would come forward with a plan,” said Alex Azar, Health and Human Services secretary. “They would say we are working with a wholesaler or pharmacy and they in Canada would take direct control of the product from a manufacturer in Canada.”

The thought being more competition would lower drug prices. But DeSantis warned that this is “only one step.” There is not a complete solution to the problem of affordable prescription drugs, but these actions should have happened already in the last 20 years.

These actions will not apply to all prescription medications. Also, Canada has said in the past that it does not have the resources to accommodate the demands drug imports would place on its manufacturers, so there are still some issues to address.

T.J. Depaola, who works at Cypress Pharmacy in south Fort Myers, said high drug prices take a toll on customers.

“Some of the chemotherapy meds can run in the 14,000 or 15,000 range,” Depaola said. “You don’t wanna see you situations where patients are skipping medications, or taking it incorrectly because they can’t afford it.”

Tyner agrees with Depaola that something needs to change. She looks forward to lowering her prescription costs.

“The government really has to be a little kinder to people that can’t afford that medication,” Tyner said.