AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas House recently passed a bipartisan bill that would make prescription drugs cheaper for Texans.
And the bill’s author estimates we could save 60% to 70% on commonly used drugs, from blood pressure medication to cancer drugs to EpiPens.
“Texans pay twice what Canadians pay for their prescription drugs,” State Rep. James Talarico, (D-Austin) said on Inside Texas Politics. “And so, the goal of this bill is to safely import those cheap prescription drugs from Canada so that we can save lives here in our state.”
HB 25 creates the Texas Wholesale Prescription Drug Importation Program, which allows Texas to import cheaper medicine from Canada approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The measure passed the Texas House nearly unanimously, 144 – 1. Senator Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, is carrying the legislation in the Texas Senate, where it is also expected to pass by a wide margin.
Rep. Talarico says the legislation is an example of Democrats and Republicans working together to solve real problems in Texas.
“Texans pay the highest prescription drug prices in the world, more than any other industrialized nation. And that’s why 42% of Texans ration or skip doses. And it’s why a quarter million Americans die every year from not taking their medications. So, the status quo is unacceptable. It’s dangerously unsafe,” the Democrat told us.
If signed into law, the measure would take effect Sept. 1.