Drug Importation in New Hampshire: An Overview

map of New Hampshire with a bottle of poisonous Canadian pills

Current status:

New Hampshire submitted an application for its state importation program in April 2021. The FDA rejected the application in November 2022 because it did not identify a Canadian wholesaler that would provide the drugs.

Synopsis:

In January 2020, the New Hampshire legislature introduced SB685, which would require the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services to design a wholesale importation program for prescription drugs from Canada by or on behalf of the state and obtain federal approval for the program. In June 2020, SB685 was added to HB1280, which included several other prescription drug initiatives. The bill was signed into law in July 2020.

 

How should we evaluate this program?

The program hasn't started yet, or even been designed, so there's no way to measure whether it saved money or kept patients safe, both promises made at the time of passage. However, the 2003 Medicare Modernization Act contains requirements for safety requirements built into any such program.

Official actions and statements

November 2022: FDA denies the application.

April 2021: New Hampshire submits an SIP application.

HB1280: Text of the Bill

SB685: Text of the Bill | New Hampshire State Senate hearing

Testimony opposing SB685:

Op-eds from the Experts

picture of man at desk

“Reducing costs requires more than all of this non–value-added activity,” Expert Says

October 23, 2020

In this October 23, 2020 editorial, which was published in the The American Journal of Managed Care, Michael Abrams explains why drug importation will not save patients money. Abrams is the co-founder and managing partner of Numerof & Associates.

“…barriers will delay or prevent drug importation,” say regulatory experts

October 14, 2020

In this analysis, which was published in Lexology on October 13, 2020, three global regulatory experts examine barriers to drug importation.

Photo of patient advocate John Adams

Canadian patient advocate urges American friends to reject the “empty promises” of importation

August 14, 2020

In this August 14, 2020 editorial, Best Medicines Coalition chair John Adams explains why Canadian importation will not lower U.S. medicine prices—and why the “concept of cheap drugs from Canada has never been anything more than a political hallucination.”

Citizens Against Government Waste Warns Drug Importation Executive Orders Will Cost Patients in More Ways Than One

July 28, 2020

In this July 28, 2020 editorial published in the WasteWatcher blog, Elizabeth Wright argues that the administration’s Executive Order will “encourage more illegal behavior and a greater production of counterfeit drugs from countries like China, Mexico, and India.” Wright is the Director of Health and Public Policy for Citizens Against Government Waste

Executive Director of Colon Cancer Association Warns Against “Ill-Considered Drug Importation Scheme”

March 23, 2020

This editorial by Andrew Spiegel was published in The International Business Times on March 23, 2020. Mr. Spiegel is executive director of the Global Colon Cancer Association and Chair of the World Patient Alliance. President Trump, Price Controls Can’t Combat Coronavirus The U.S. outbreak of novel coronavirus, COVID-19, has quickly evolved into a national nightmare.…

photo of Ujjal Dosanjh

Canadian drug importation is “an economic fantasy,” former Canadian health minister says.

March 2, 2020

In this editorial in The Globe and Mail, Ujjal Dosanjh, formerly a federal minister of health and a premier of British Columbia, explains that drug manufacturers have no incentive to sell Canadian provinces more medicine to fill the needs of U.S. residents. Importation will lead to drug shortages in Canada and counterfeit drug trafficking to the U.S.

Canadian health law experts predict: Canada won’t end up as the drugstore to the U.S.

January 16, 2020

This editorial by David C. Rosenbaum and Dara Jospé was published in the Financial Post on January 16, 2020. Rosenbaum is a partner of the law firm Fasken. Jospé is an associate for the same company.

Photo of Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera

Lowering prices “must not happen at the expense of public safety,” Utah sheriff says

December 3, 2019

This editorial by Rosie Rivera was published in The Salt Lake Tribune on December 3, 2019. Rivera is the sheriff of Salt Lake County.

photo of the author, C. Michael White

Pharmacy professor: buying prescription drugs from Canada “risky in terms of quality and safety”

September 27, 2019

This editorial by C. Michael White was published in The Conversation on September 27, 2019. White is a professor and head of the Department of Pharmacy Practice for the University of Connecticut.

Cancer Center Pharmacist in Iowa Worries Drug Importation Will Harm His Patients

August 27, 2019

This editorial by Dana McDougall was published in The Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier on August 26, 2019. Mr. McDougall, Pharm.D., BCPS, is a pharmacist with the Covenant Cancer Treatment Center in Waterloo, Iowa.