Colorado submitted a proposal to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday, seeking to import prescription drugs from Canada to save Coloradans money on medications.

Importing lower-priced prescription drugs from Canada would reduce drug costs for Coloradans by an average of 65%, according to an analysis by the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing. That could add up to between $53 million and $88 million in savings annually, depending on market adoption.

“This exciting step means we are closer to savings for Coloradans as we continue to take bold action to make prescription drugs and health care more affordable,” Gov. Jared Polis said in a release announcing the FDA submission. “Now, all we need is FDA approval and Coloradans will start saving money!”

Colorado’s Canadian Drug Importation Program has been in the works for years. In 2019, the state legislature passed Senate Bill 19-005, authorizing the state to seek federal approval to establish an importation program. The next year, federal policy changed to allow FDA-authorized programs to import certain prescription drugs from Canada to the United States.

Dozens of commonly used, life-saving drugs are eligible to be imported from Canada, said Kim Bimestefer, executive director of the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing. This includes Jardiance, a drug used to treat Type 2 diabetes, and Flovent, an inhaler, which would both be approximately 80% less expensive through the importation program, she said.

When speaking about the program in 2021, Polis said drug costs are so high in the U.S. that nearly 1 in 3 Coloradans do not take their prescription drugs as directed, instead opting to take less or space them out because they cannot afford to buy more.

“By pursuing this plan to make lower-cost prescription drugs available in our state, we are taking action to make sure that no Coloradan has to choose between their health and their finances,” said Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera, director of the Office of Saving People Money on Health Care. “This is an important step in our ongoing work to save people money on health care.”

The submission to the FDA is the first step in requesting federal approval to operate Colorado’s Canadian Drug Importation Program.

In August, Colorado announced it selected AdiraMedica LLC, Premier Pharmaceuticals LLC and Denver’s Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Safety as partners to implement the importation program.