Biden FDA approves Florida request to import drugs from Canada, but state didn't act

In January, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized Florida to import select prescription drugs from Canada. Florida had originally sought the authority under President Donald Trump's administration in 2020, citing 14 drugs it wanted to import from Canada, including treatments for cancer and AIDS.

"The Biden Administration took steps to implement a program that was stood up under the first Trump administration, whereby states could submit plans to import drugs from Canada," email Meredith Freed, senior policy manager with the program on Medicare policy at KFF, a health care think tank, wrote in an email.

Although Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis applauded the decision when it was announced, Florida has not yet put a program into practice. In November, a Florida health official told KFF Health News that there was no planned start date.

Practicalities pose a big problem for this import plan, Camm Epstein, a health policy analyst in Saratoga Springs, New York, told KFF Health News. "Even if they turned on the spigot, there would be no flow, because Canada was not going to permit for the supply," Epstein said.

The only other state with an importation proposal pending with the FDA is Colorado. 

The Biden administration could have chosen a different approach, using new laws or regulations, to legalize the practice nationally rather than organizing action on a state-by-state basis, Freed said. Instead, the administration moved forward using the policy architecture it inherited from the Trump administration, which saved the Biden administration from having to go through Congress or to launch a new regulatory process, she said.

The Biden administration advanced the president's campaign promise by allowing Florida to import drugs from Canada, but it's up to the states to bring the policy to completion. We rate this Compromise.