Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Tuesday issued the following statement after Senate Bill 1, authorizing the state’s pursuit of the importation of lower-cost wholesale prescription drugs from Canada, passed the Senate unanimously:
“Too many New Mexico families can’t afford medication. Too many families either skip filling their prescriptions or ration the medicine they have. This is unacceptable. And so I am thrilled that we are one step closer to meaningfully cutting prescription drug costs for New Mexico families.
“I will keep fighting relentlessly to reduce costs and make health care as accessible, affordable and high-quality as it can possibly be. I want to thank senators for their support of this potentially game-changing measure, particularly Sen. Papen for her leadership in sponsoring it, and I look forward to quickly moving this bill through the House.”
Senate Bill 1, sponsored by Sen. Mary Kay Papen and Rep. Debbie Armstrong, will authorize the New Mexico Department of Health to develop a plan making New Mexico one of the early states to apply for federal approval to import wholesale drugs from Canada.
Under this new pathway, the federal government will only approve plans that guarantee the safety of the imported drugs for consumers and ensure that significant cost savings will be passed on to consumers.
Vermont, Maine, Colorado and Florida have already passed similar legislation and other states are considering it.