Irish health officials on Wednesday said that they were unaware of a new program announced on Tuesday by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) under which state residents can purchase lower-cost prescription drugs from Ireland, as well as Canada and the United Kingdom, a practice that would violate Irish law, the Chicago Tribune reports (Flynn, Chicago Tribune, 8/19). Blagojevich said that the program, which will become the first in the United States to include medications from Europe, must involve non-Canadian pharmacies and wholesalers because at least five large pharmaceutical companies have begun to limit supplies to Canadian pharmacies that sell prescription drugs to U.S. residents. The program, which Illinois will make accessible through a Web site and 24-hour toll-free telephone number, will allow state residents to refill prescriptions for 100 of the most common prescription drugs used to treat chronic illnesses; the program will exclude pain medications, treatments such as insulin that require refrigeration during shipment and generic drugs. Under the program, Illinois will contract with a Canadian pharmacy benefit manager to form a clearinghouse of more than 35 pharmacies and wholesalers that state officials said will offer medications at discounts of 25% to 50%. Non-Illinois residents will not have access to the program. In the future, Illinois plans to waive copayments for state employees and retirees who purchase medications through the program. Illinois officials estimate that the program in the future could save the state as much as $50 million annually. According to Blagojevich, the program could save $1.9 billion in the first year if all Illinois residents participated. Illinois plans to launch the program within the next month (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 8/18).
Irish Health Officials Never Contacted
Officials for the
Irish Department of Health and
Children said that they could not comment on the Illinois program
because state officials never contacted them to discuss the proposal.
Siobhan Molloy, a spokesperson for the Irish Medicines Board, the Irish equivalent of FDA, said, "It just seems
unusual, very unusual. We haven't come across it before. We don't know the
details at this point." Blagojevich spokesperson Scott McKibbin said that
earlier this year a special envoy from Illinois met with European Union
officials and developed a plan to avoid the direct purchase of
prescription drugs from Ireland. Under the plan, Illinois would purchase
prescription drugs from Irish wholesalers through pharmacies in the United
Kingdom, which allows the sale of medications by mail. Irish health
officials oppose the sale of prescription drugs by mail because of
concerns similar to those voiced by FDA, such as the "possibility of
faulty labeling or improper ingredients," the Tribune
reports. Representatives for the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association called the
Illinois program "totally unworkable and impractical" and raised concerns
about the effect of the proposal on the Irish prescription drug supply.
Anne Nolan, CEO of IPHA, said, "It probably sounds fantastic and it
probably sounds as if Irish pharmacists and the Irish pharmaceutical
industry here would be delighted with this. We wouldn't. It would cause
enormous problems for us to meet our local obligations here." She added,
"It might have been better if [Blagojevich] had spoken to us first."
Illinois Reaction
Aides to Blagojevich said that the
Illinois program "work[s] around" Ireland's prohibition of mail-order
drugs and "downplayed concerns about the possibility of Illinois depleting
prescription drug supplies in Ireland," the Tribune reports.
Blagojevich spokesperson Abby Ottenhoff said that the program would only
take advantage of the free trade system among EU nations. According to
McKibbin, "We are not going to dispense from Ireland. We have
relationships with Irish wholesalers, and they will provide product to
pharmacies in the U.K." (Flynn, Chicago Tribune, 8/19).
Chicago Tribune Editorial
Blagojevich's
"impatience" to launch a program to reduce prescription drug costs for
Illinois residents is "understandable," but the state "should not be in
the business of helping people break the law, even if its elected
officials disagree with that law," a Tribune editorial states. According to the
editorial, the program would lead to charges of "political posturing" by
Blagojevich and leave the state vulnerable to "legal challenges and
possible liability questions." Although Illinois and other states have
experienced "real frustration with the slow pace of change," Congress
likely will pass legislation to legalize prescription drug reimportation
in the near future, the editorial states. The editorial concludes that
Blagojevich "must be patient" and "should not let his frustration with the
slow pace of reform lead him to help people commit another crime"
(Chicago Tribune, 8/19).