Illinois May Buy Canadian Drugs

[kskiska]

Move Escalates Battle on Prices

Monday, September 15, 2003; Page A01

Facing budget-breaking increases in prescription drug bills, the governor of Illinois took the first step yesterday toward purchasing lower-cost medications from Canada, a move that puts him in direct conflict with federal regulators and signals a dramatic escalation in the civil war over U.S. drug prices.

What began a decade ago with busloads of senior citizens trekking across the border in search of cheaper medicines has mushroomed into a nationwide rebellion. It has spread from small, nonprofit groups to the private sector, and now, to local and state officials who are defiantly ignoring warnings by the Bush administration and the pharmaceutical industry that drug reimportation is dangerous and illegal.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, said he has directed the Illinois special advocate to draft a plan for buying inexpensive medications in Canada for as many as 240,000 state employees and retirees. Sources said he intends to pursue the change, which could save the state tens of millions of dollars.

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Depending on the drug, the discounts in Canada can be as much as 80 percent, savings that have proven especially irresistible to senior citizens who do not have prescription coverage under Medicare.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10735-2003Sep14.html