The two largest pharmacy chains in the United States will start dispensing the abortion pill mifepristone this month, a step that could make access easier for some patients.

Officials at CVS and Walgreens said in interviews on Friday that they had received certification to dispense mifepristone under guidelines that the Food and Drug Administration issued last year. The chains plan to make the medication available in stores in a handful of states at first. They will not be providing the medication by mail.

Pharmacy chains CVS and Walgreens will begin selling mifepristone, an abortifacient drug, in stores in certain states in late March.

CVS will make the pill available in all its pharmacies in Massachusetts and Rhode Island this month, while Walgreens will sell mifepristone in a small number of storefronts in California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania, the New York Times reported Friday.

Walgreens and CVS pharmacies in select states will begin selling the abortion pill mifepristone as soon as next week, the companies announced Friday.

Both pharmacy chains completed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) certification process to dispense mifepristone, which is a drug that blocks the hormone progesterone needed for a pregnancy to continue. It is commonly used to end a pregnancy through ten weeks gestation, according to the FDA.

The Food and Drug Administration’s decision to allow Florida to import some prescription drugs from Canada marks a major shift in U.S. drug policy, and could open the door to other states looking for ways to rein in high drug prices. 

The approval was three years in the making and came only after Florida sued FDA for alleged inaction. The state estimates it would save about $150 million dollars in the first year of implementation, but the plan has a long way to go before those savings are ever realized.

The Biden administration will allow Florida to import cheaper prescription drugs from Canada, giving the green light to a plan put in motion by the state several years ago.

The Food and Drug Administration made the decision on Florida’s plan Friday, saying that the state’s health department must likewise provide quarterly reports to the agency, including information on cost savings and potential safety and quality issues.

The Food and Drug Administration announced Friday it will allow Florida to import medications from Canada, following decades of attempts by states in the U.S. to purchase drugs in bulk at a cheaper price from the country.

Florida will be allowed to purchase medicines in bulk for the state’s Medicaid program, government clinics and prisons from Canadian wholesalers under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, the FDA said Friday.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved importation of prescription drugs from Canada into the state of Florida.

Citing significant cost benefits for patients, Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration proposed the import model under section 804 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act).

"The FDA is committed to working with states and Indian tribes that seek to develop successful section 804 importation proposals," FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf, M.D., said in the statement.

Earlier this year, parents trying to fill their children’s asthma prescriptions at pharmacies around the country got a jolt: The medicine was no longer covered. Soon, it would disappear from the market. 

The reason: pricing. 

A wild idea recently circulated about the future of aviation: If passengers lose weight via obesity drugs, airlines could potentially cut down on fuel costs. In September, analysts at Jefferies Bank estimated that in the “slimmer society” obesity drugs will create, United Airlines could save up to $80 million in jet fuel annually.

A future Republican president who opposes Medicare drug price negotiations likely couldn't dismantle or ignore the process but could have some regulatory discretion to seek lower price cuts, experts told Axios.

Why it matters: Giving Medicare the ability to negotiate drug prices was a signature achievement for President Biden. Republicans, meanwhile, have long opposed Medicare negotiations, regarding them as price controls that could hurt new drug development.