Illinois Seeks to Buy Drugs From Canada

[EdwardKnoxII 0]

http://www.comcast.net/News/DOMESTIC//XML/...5f6fdc0d9b.html

 

Illinois Seeks to Buy Drugs From Canada

 

By MAURA KELLY, Associated Press Writer

 

CHICAGO - To save the state money on prescription drugs, Gov. Rod Blagojevich wants the federal government to give Illinois the right to bend the law by shopping for medications in Canada.

 

Blagojevich on Monday plans to ask the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to let the state buy drugs at lower prices in Canada for its 230,000 state employees and retirees, a spokeswoman said.

 

Blagojevich is seeking approval from Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson for a pilot program through the new Medicare bill, spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff said Sunday.

 

The bill grants Thompson the power to tell Congress that _ for the purpose of a pilot program _ reimportation of drugs poses no additional risk to the public's health and safety, Ottenhoff said. Illinois is asking him for a waiver authorizing the reimportation of an agreed list of prescription drugs, she said.

 

"The benefit of doing it that way is they can work with us and figure out how best to set up a regulatory process and be a part of the process rather than watch some states move forward on their own," Ottenhoff said.

 

New Hampshire and Boston have announced plans to buy prescription drugs from Canada as a way to cut costs, and Springfield, Mass., is already allowing its employees to do so. But Blagojevich, while continuing to push to overturn the federal ban on importing lower-priced drugs from Canada, has said he will not break the law.

 

Bill Pierce, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, said previous laws have included similar language but Thompson and Donna Shalala, his predecessor, were never able to guarantee the safety of reimported drugs.

 

"Nothing changes," Pierce said. "The bottom line is, twice there have been similar laws to allow reimported drugs but only if they have been certified as safe. Donna Shalala and Secretary Thompson have said they could not do that. That's the key part."

 

Blagojevich also plans to announce that he and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty have scheduled a prescription drug summit for the nation's governors on Feb. 24, 2004, in Washington, D.C.

 

"Illinois, like other states around the country, is dealing with limited resources at a time when we're trying to keep up with increased health care costs," Ottenhoff said. "This is a logical way to continue to provide services to the people of Illinois but do so at half the cost."

 

Blagojevich commissioned a report earlier this year that said Illinois would save as much as $91 million if state employees and retirees bought drugs from Canada, which is illegal. Illinois spent $340 million on prescription drugs for its employees and retirees last fiscal year, a 15 percent increase from the previous year.

 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration criticized that report for inflating savings and wrongly assuming Canadian health authorities can guarantee the safety of drugs sent to the United States.

 

Brand-name drugs often cost less in Canada because of government price controls, but the FDA and pharmaceutical companies warn that buying Canadian drugs presents significant potential health and safety risks.

 

Blagojevich's plan for a pilot program calls for developing a preferred drug list of prescriptions that can be safely obtained from Canada, Ottenhoff said. She said the list will be made up of mostly brand-name drugs for long-term use.

 

Only FDA-approved drugs in FDA-approved dosages will be eligible for the list, Ottenhoff said, adding that only state employees and retirees could participate in the pilot program.

[NoCalMike 0]

but but but......Canandian prescription drugs are..."daaaaaaaaaangerous"