Drug cost

Six states have passed laws to start drug imports from Canada, and Florida, Colorado and New Mexico are the furthest along in plans to get federal approval.

The measures would impose taxes on increases in the price of drugs that don’t reflect improved clinical value and set the rates paid by state-run and commercial health plans to a benchmark based on prices in Canada.

The high cost of innovative new pharmaceutical drugs has health plans concerned about how to pay for the drugs and patient advocates worried that sick people may be prevented from getting the care they need.