Illinois Governor Pushing Forward On Canadian Drug Plan CHICAGO-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is undaunted by federal authorities' rejection of his request for a pilot program that would allow his state to buy prescription drugs from Canada.  In addition, Gov. Blagojevich announced that he is working with Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty to organize a February summit for the nation's governors on the drug reimportation issue.  Under the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, it is illegal for anyone other than the original manufacturer to reimport prescription drugs. But the Illinois governor has been leading a charge for allowing prescription drug reimportation from Canada, asserting that his state alone would save more than $90 million annually. Prescription drugs generally cost between 30% and 80% less in Canada because of government-imposed price controls.  Although Gov. Blagojevich has not yet received a formal response to his written proposal, a spokesman for HHS told Business Insurance that ``we don't have authority to do what the governor was asking.''   Despite that, ``the plan has not changed,'' said a spokeswoman for Gov. Blagojevich, who on Dec. 22 sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson seeking permission to launch the first federally approved drug importation pilot program.   The letter, co-written by Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., asserts that the new Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003, which President Bush signed last month, includes language giving the HHS secretary the power to certify importation of drugs from Canada on a demonstration project level.  The text of the bill states that the secretary, after consulting with the U.S. trade representative and the commissioner of U.S. Customs, ``shall promulgate regulations permitting pharmacists and wholesalers to import prescription drugs from Canada into the United States.'' However, it also stipulates that the new rules must require that safeguards be in place to ensure that each prescription drug imported under the regulations ``is safe and effective for the intended use.''   Gov. Blagojevich's letter appealed to Mr. Thompson's sense of entrepreneurship, comparing the proposed Canadian drug pilot project to the innovative ``workfare'' program Mr. Thompson instituted as governor of Wisconsin, which required numerous waivers from federal law.   ``Your innovation in Wisconsin's approach to welfare reform demonstrates that when given the chance to do so, states can often successfully use their own ideas to meet the major challenges of the day. That kind of innovation is clearly needed with it comes to bringing down the price of prescription drugs,'' the letter states.  Gov. Blagojevich said he would work closely with HHS and the FDA to implement his pilot program, which would include:  * The use of a preferred drug list made up predominantly of brand-name drugs for long-term usage that can be obtained more cost-effectively in Canada than in the United States.  * A requirement that participants first have eligible prescriptions filled by licensed Illinois pharmacies before obtaining refills through the reimportation program.  * Periodic reporting to HHS of the pilot program's effectiveness and cost savings.  However, officials from both HHS and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration disagree on whether the new Medicare reform legislation gives Mr. Thompson the authority to approve any Canadian drug importation pilot project.  ``The problem is that both Gov. (Rod) Blagojevich and other governors...believe that this Medicare bill that passed recently allows the secretary of HHS to provide a waiver to allow a given state to import these drugs. And it appears that some members of Congress have told them they interpreted it this way,'' said Bill Hubbard, the FDA's associate commissioner for policy and planning in Washington, who has been assigned by HHS Secretary Thompson the task of reviewing whether the governor's proposal can be allowed under the new Medicare law.  ``Our reading is that the law says the secretary can allow the importation of drugs from Canada broadly, or nationally, if he can certify that it can be done safely, and then it instructs the secretary to do a study on that matter with very explicit and detailed instructions as to what to study, what questions to ask, what data to collect. That study is just now beginning,'' he said.  In addition to Illinois and Minnesota, the states of Colorado, Iowa and New Hampshire; several cities in Massachusetts; and Montgomery County, Md., announced plans to explore Canadian drug reimportation during 2003.  The Governors' Prescription Drug Summit will be held following the National Governors Assn. Winter Meeting on Feb. 24, 2004, in Washington. The agenda and location are still being finalized, according to a statement from Gov. Pawlenty's office. This story originally came from National Weekly Insurance Trade Magazine ... Return to the Media Section

Member Quick Links Search Drug Prices e-Health Library Member FAQ's Printable Order Forms Online Ordering