Health Agencies Set Stage for U.S. to Import Cheaper Drugs

  • Two-pronged plan is latest attempt to pare prescription costs
  • Buying from abroad has bipartisan backing; drugmakers opposed

Photographer: Joe Raedle/Getty Images   

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The Trump administration cracked open the door for the eventual importation of cheaper medicines from abroad, the latest salvo in a battle to bring down drug costs.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday published what they dubbed a “safe importation action plan” that could allow for certain medications originally intended for foreign markets to be sold to U.S. consumers.