October 22 Could Cut Off a Medication Lifeline for American Patients

This is a patient-access issue

If no workable pathway is available, personal prescription shipments may be delayed, interrupted, or effectively cut off. Patients who have responsibly used international mail service to obtain more affordable medicine could suddenly face prices they worked hard to escape.

What is at stake on October 22?

The United States is changing how international postal shipments are processed. Those changes could create new costs, documentation demands, and operational barriers for personal prescription deliveries. It will create an enforcement-only policy – reversing a more than 20 year understanding allowing front line agents to practice discretion.

Patients do not need to master the customs process to understand the consequence: the current way they receive affordable medicine may no longer work as it does today. The exact impact is still unfolding, and possible solutions are being explored. But uncertainty is not reassurance when someone's next dose depends on a package arriving.

Losing affordable access has human consequences

When medicine becomes unaffordable, patients do not suddenly stop being sick.

They may delay refills or cut spending on food, utilities, transportation, and other necessities. Some may go without treatment and hope their condition does not get worse. That is why October 22 matters: a system change that looks administrative can become a devastating personal decision in someone's kitchen.

Americans have relied on personal importation for decades

CPPI says its community includes more than 150,000 Americans. The people represented by that number include older adults, caregivers, workers, families, and patients living with chronic illness.

They are not asking anyone to stop caring about safety. They are asking for a practical, responsible pathway to medication they can afford.

Patients need to be heard before access is lost

Once an affordable option disappears, the harm cannot be solved with an explanation of why the rules changed. CPPI now provides an online tool that helps patients send a prepared letter to the relevant Representative and Senate offices after submitting a ZIP Code.

Send your letter through CPPI, then join the patient community to receive campaign updates.

Calls to action: Send a letter | Join CPPI - free

What patients should do now

If you have a refill that is currently eligible, consider reviewing it early and remain within all prescription, dispensing, and supply limits. Do not change your treatment plan without speaking with your healthcare provider.

Then use the four-action patient guide and return to the Patient Action Hub for the full October 22 resource collection.

Calls to action: Review eligible refills | Share with CPPI

October 22 is a deadline - and a call to prepare

Patients should not have to lose access before the human cost is understood. The outcome is not yet written, but time is short. Learn what may change, prepare responsibly, and connect with CPPI if you want to support the patient campaign.