Ill. gov. unveils online pharmacy network

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Ill. gov. unveils online pharmacy network

CHICAGO (AP) ‹ Ignoring a federal ban on prescription drug imports,

Illinois' governor announced Tuesday that the state would have an online

clearinghouse running within a month to help residents purchase drugs from

Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom.

The state won't import the drugs itself, but plans to contract with a

Canadian company to connect state residents with foreign pharmacies that

have been approved by state health inspectors.

" We have taken every possible step we could think of to convince the FDA,

and convince the Congress, and anyone and everyone who will listen, that

people across Illinois, and across our country, deserve access to safe and

lower cost prescription drugs, " Gov. Rod Blagojevich said. " The federal

government has failed to act. So it's time that we do. "

Prescription drugs are often cheaper in Canada and other countries because

of government price controls. The Food and Drug Administration opposes

allowing prescription drug imports because it says it cannot guarantee the

drugs' safety.

Federal officials earlier rejected an Illinois request to set up a pilot

program to buy drugs from Canada. The governor's new plan would be an

" aggressive expansion, " said Hubbard, FDA associate commissioner for

policy and planning.

" The drugs that would be accessed from this program would be illegal and we

would have serious concerns because the drugs wouldn't be regulated by an

American health authority, " Hubbard said.

Blagojevich has said safeguards could be built in to any program, including

limiting the imports to only refills of already approved prescriptions.

The savings would be high, he said. A study Blagojevich commissioned last

year found Illinois would save $91 million if state employees and retirees

bought drugs from Canada. If all Illinois residents used the program, the

first year of saving could reach $1.9 billion, he said.

By also tapping into pharmacies in Europe, the proposed network would go

beyond those in Minnesota and Wisconsin, where Web sites help residents buy

prescription drugs from Canada.

Under the program, the state would set up a Web site and toll-free phone

number that would link consumers to a Canadian-run clearinghouse that would

provide information on costs in Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom of

about 100 of the most common brand-name drugs used to treat chronic or

long-term conditions.

Consumers would be able to fax or mail prescription for refills only to the

clearinghouse, which would give the already written prescription to a

network physician to review. If approved, the physician would send the

prescription to a network pharmacy chosen by the consumer.

Generic drugs, narcotics or drugs that can spoil during shipping would be

excluded from the program. And each pharmacy used would be certified by the

state and subject to the same inspections and regulations used in Illinois,

Blagojevich said.

Eventually, the governor hopes to encourage state employees and retirees to

use the system by offering to waive their insurance copay, Blagojevich

spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff said.

" We can't keep asking the 500,000 senior citizens who live in Illinois and

lack prescription drug coverage to keep deciding, 'Do I pay for my medicine

or do I pay for my groceries?' " Blagojevich said. " These are real choices

people have to make every single day. "

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2004-08-17-ill-meds_x.htm