The health research group KFF found that per-capita spending on prescriptions was 42% higher in the United States than in Canada.

On April 15 President Donald Trump signed an executive order that allows for a variety of changes aimed at lowering the cost of prescription medications. The core of the executive order was allowing the importation of prescription drugs from Canada by the states.

Since 2020, certain states have allowed importation of drugs from Canada but the FDA approval for such actions was not clear. Florida is the only state at the moment that is authorized to import drugs from Canada. The approval process took more than three years for Florida to be able to allow this.

Trump’s order directs the FDA to improve the process for allowing importation of pharmaceuticals from Canada and requests that the states apply for authorization to import medications.

An additional provision of Trump’s order aims to lower costs by improving the drug development and approval process.

The order instructs the FDA to reduce the timeline in the approval process for generic and biosimilar medications. It is estimated that this change could reduce the price of medication for some patients by as much as 80%. The White House pointed to the backlog of generic and biosimilar medications awaiting approval. 

In addition, Trump’s order directs HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to work with Congress to address the focus on expensive drugs over less expensive ones.