BioCentury
ARTICLE | Politics & Policy

Healthcare organization to import drugs from Canada

October 18, 2000 7:00 AM UTC

A Maine healthcare organization on Tuesday announced that it will import over 300 FDA-approved drugs from Canada and provide them to patients in Maine and other New England states for approximately 30 percent less than standard U.S. prices. Affiliated Healthcare Systems, a subsidiary of Eastern Maine Healthcare, plans to exploit regulations that allow physicians in border states who are licensed in Canada to prescribe drugs for American patients. AHS will help Maine physicians obtain prescription privileges in Canada, and is setting up a joint venture with a pharmacy north of the border that will ship drugs to the U.S. at Canadian government-controlled prices. The program will focus on long-term maintenance drugs. The FDA and the U.S. Customs Service have approved the plan, according to AHS. ...