The Texas House passed a bill to import cheaper prescription drugs from Canada on Wednesday, a measure state Rep. James Talarico, the bill’s primary author, says could lead to hundreds of millions in savings for state agencies and diminish costs by 60–70% for users. 

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La cámara de representantes de Texas aprueba proyecto de ley bipartidista para importar medicamentos recetados más baratos

HB 25 would create the Texas Wholesale Prescription Drug Importation Program, allowing the U.S. to import prescription drugs from EpiPens to cancer medications from Canada, according to a media advisory from Talarico. The program does not include controlled substances. 

The bill passed a nearly unanimous vote in the House, but must pass the full Senate and be signed by Gov. Greg Abbott to become law. Six other states have voted to implement similar programs. 

“Access to medicine is a human right,” Talarico said in a Tweet. “This bill to import cheap prescription drugs from Canada is the next step toward guaranteeing health care for all Texans.”

According to Talarico’s Twitter thread, Canada and the United States have similar regulations for prescription drugs, but the bill requires approval from the Food and Drug Administration at every step before reaching Texan pharmacies. 

“As we speak, Texans are choosing between their medications and their rent; their medications and their groceries — and many of them are choosing to go without their medications,” Talarico said in a Tweet. “The status quo is dangerously unsafe.”

Americans spent the most on prescription drugs per capita in 2021 and 42% of Texans ration or skip doses, Talarico said. 

“This is a moral issue,” he said in a Tweet. “With this bill, we have the opportunity to heal people.”