LAKELAND, Fla. — Florida has waited long enough.
That's what Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday while announcing that his administration is suing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration over a plan he claims will save Floridians hundreds of millions of dollars on prescription drugs.
Speaking at a pharmaceutical distribution plant in Lakeland, DeSantis said the Florida Legislature passed a measure in 2019 that allows the Sunshine State to import medications directly from Canada instead of the U.S. at cheaper prices.
"These are the same drugs that you purchase here. They're just 80% cheaper or 75% cheaper," DeSantis said.
The governor said his administration has submitted multiple proposals to the FDA and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services since late 2020, seeking federal approval to import prescription drugs from Canada.
According to DeSantis, President Joe Biden expressed his interest in the proposal in summer of 2021.
630 days later, the governor said Wednesday the FDA has been "very dismissive" and "very arrogant" and has delayed making a decision on the prescription drug import plan.
"It's just been sitting at FDA for months and months and months. Probably over a year, year and a half, and no action," DeSantis said. "Biden is saying he wants this for consumers, but yet his administration is not willing to act to be able to prove it so that people have access to more affordable pharmaceuticals."
As a result, the DeSantis Administration is suing the FDA, claiming the agency has violated federal law after it "unlawfully withheld and unreasonably delayed an approval of Florida's program."
The governor is asking a federal judge to order the FDA to make a decision on the proposal.
"The clock's been ticking. We have a right to know what the FDA has been doing the last two years," DeSantis said. "Are they putting politics over patients? Are they putting the interests of big pharma over the interests of average Floridians and taxpayers? And that's what we need to find out."
An FDA official said the agency doesn’t comment on pending litigation, but cited a webpage suggesting officials are making progress on creating a "statutory pathway" for states wanting imports.
The last update was in March.
Earlier this month, Biden released details of the "Inflation Reduction Act," a proposal which would allow the Medicare program to negotiate some prescription drug prices with pharmaceutical companies, saving the federal government some $288 billion over the 10-year budget window.
The result is expected to lower costs for older adults on medications, including a $2,000 out-of-pocket cap for older adults buying prescriptions from pharmacies.
The revenue raised would also be used to provide free vaccinations for seniors, who now are among the few not guaranteed free access, according to a summary document.
Seniors would also have insulin prices capped at $35 a month.