We can further reduce drug costs by allowing the reimportation of medication — i.e. bringing back prescription medication that was produced here in the United States and shipped to be sold internationally.
Allow reimportation of prescription medication to reduce drug costs.
Occurrences
allowing the reimportation of medication
Evidence
We can further reduce drug costs by allowing the reimportation of medication — i.e. bringing back prescription medication that was produced here in the United States and shipped to be sold internationally.
Current law also prohibits the reimportation—importing an exported U.S.-manufactured drug back into the United States—of a U.S.-manufactured drug by anyone other than the manufacturer.
He also helped pass into law the Inflation Reduction Act, historic legislation which lowered the cost of certain prescription drugs to $35 a month for seniors on Medicare.
Assessments
The promise was to allow prescription-drug reimportation/importation to reduce costs. The cited accomplishment on the Inflation Reduction Act lowered some Medicare drug costs but did not enact the promised reimportation policy. Current CRS/FDA context shows only limited Section 804 state/tribal importation pathways and Florida authorization, while reimportation of U.S.-manufactured drugs by non-manufacturers remains generally prohibited. Later 2024 and 2025 importation bills were introduced but did not pass, and available records do not show Schiff sponsoring, cosponsoring, or materially advancing the relevant legislation. Because the promised federal outcome has not been delivered and there is no serious Schiff-specific legislative or executive attempt shown, this is not eligible for an effort badge.