01 December 2004
State OKAYS Canada drugs
Kansas joins three other states in a program that makes lower-cost drugs from abroad available to all residents.
TOPEKA - Kansans will be able to buy lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada and Europe under a program Gov. Kathleen Sebelius outlined Tuesday.
The move drew praise from advocates for the elderly, who often have expensive and ongoing prescriptions.
Pharmacists, however, criticized the action as unsafe, and House Speaker Doug Mays warned that it was illegal and would expose Kansas to lawsuits alleging wrongful death.
Kansas becomes the fourth state to join a coalition to make lower-cost drugs available from a Canadian company. Other states on or near the Canadian border, and some cities, have made similar arrangements on their own.
"It's a good, safe program, and it will result in real savings for seniors and working Kansans," Sebelius said of the I-SaveRx program. She was joined at a Topeka news conference by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
Savings they cited ranged from 31 percent on Lipitor, a cholesterol-lowering medicine, to 56 percent on Celebrex, an arthritis medicine.
The program is open to all Kansans but is specifically aimed at those who do not have prescription drug coverage.
Illinois developed the purchasing program, launched in October, and was soon joined by Missouri and Wisconsin.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, importing drugs from Canada is illegal unless it is done by the original manufacturer. The agency has sent warning letters to Canadian companies that send drugs into the United States.
Bill Dirks of Wichita, a volunteer with the Kansas chapter of AARP, said lowering the cost of medicines is his top priority. He said he knows several people who already buy drugs from Canada through retail outlets or by making trips across the border.
"I just feel it's egotistical of us to think the Canadians would be selling unsafe drugs," he said. "This is a short-term solution. Long term, it doesn't make sense to have to resell a drug several times to get a lower price."
Canada sets limits on how much companies can charge for some drugs.
Under the new program, Kansans would order their drugs over the Internet or via a toll-free telephone number. The program is available to anyone regardless of income.
A Wichita pharmacist cautioned that customers may not be getting what they ordered.
"When you take the professional out of the loop, you never can tell what you're going to get," said Cesar Godinez, owner of Cesar's Family Pharmacy, 6157 E. Harry.
He said states would have been better off to use their collective bargaining power to gain better prices from drug manufacturers.
John Kiefhaber, executive director of the Kansas Pharmacists Association, called Sebelius' move "illegal and potentially unsafe."
Mays, the House speaker, sent a letter to Attorney General Phill Kline, asking whether the plan violates Kansas law and leaves the state vulnerable to liability lawsuits. A spokesman for Kline said the request is under review.
Mays, R-Topeka, said he was sensitive to the high cost of drugs. His father, he said, spends several hundred dollars a month on prescriptions. But safety comes first, he said.
"People need to understand that this is no panacea, that there are dangerous risks involved in this program," Mays said.
Many Kansans already are purchasing drugs through Canada Drug stores in Wichita, Topeka and Overland Park.
Alex Ice, owner of the Wichita and Overland Park stores, welcomed the new program, even while conceding it will compete with his operations. The state's endorsement will make people more comfortable buying drugs from Canada, he said.
Ice thinks he will maintain an advantage with elderly customers who prefer to deal with someone in person rather than on the Internet or the telephone.
Plus, he takes checks. Many of his customers don't have or won't use credit cards, he said.
"Business is fantastic," Ice said. "We've had growth every month since we've been in operation."
The state's new plan and Ice's stores primarily serve customers who need maintenance drugs to treat such ailments as high cholesterol, ulcers and high blood pressure.
Patients needing medications immediately to treat an illness will not be able to take advantage of the service, which requires about two weeks for delivery.
Under the state's plan, a patient must have taken the medication at least 30 days prior to ordering. Customers must also have their doctors mail or fax a health profile form to the clearinghouse.
The network of Canadian pharmacies that participate must agree to comply with Illinois pharmacy standards and supply drugs only from Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
CanaRx Services will serve as the clearinghouse for the Kansas program.
In November 2003, FDA's director of compliance sent CanaRx a letter warning that the company was violating several provisions of federal drug law.
The letter said that a drug intended for a foreign market, even if it is similar to a U.S.-approved drug and manufactured in the same plant, could not be legally sold in the United States.
BY STEVE PAINTER
Eagle Topeka bureau
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