How much will people who use the program save?
Drug |
Used for |
U.S. |
Ireland |
U.K. |
Canada |
Aciphex |
Heartburn |
$422 |
$164 |
$178 |
$172 |
Plavix |
Blood thinner |
$397 |
$250 |
$257 |
$213 |
Lipitor |
Cholesterol |
$214 |
$144 |
$158 |
$162 |
When will the program start?
- The website will be operational within a month.

Who is eligible to participate?
- The program will initially be for ALL residents of the state of
Illinois.
- Those who would most benefit from this proposal would be the
estimated 23 percent of residents without prescription drug coverage
or those with insufficient prescription drug coverage for their
needs
How will you verify people are Illinois residents?
- In order to enroll, individuals will need to provide shipping and
billing addresses and fill out a health profile form. These
documents will enable the pharmacy benefits manager to verify the
individual is from Illinois.
How will the program work?
- For first-time users, the patient must complete a health profile
form and provide shipping and billing information.
- A valid prescription must be faxed by the U.S. doctor or an
original mailed by the patient. Only refills are eligible.
- The clearinghouse performs an initial safety check for
interactions, allergies, duplication of therapy and dosage.
- A clearinghouse network physician reviews the
patient profile and reissues the prescription only if the physician
is satisfied it is appropriate for the patient.
- The prescription is then filled in a network pharmacy and mailed
to the patient.
- From the time the pharmacy benefits manager receives a completed
order -- health profile with doctor's signature, prescription fax
from the doctor's offices or mailed from the patient, payment
received -- until the patient receives medication is approximately
seven to 21 days, depending on the country and the mail systems.

Which drugs will be available through the program?
- The state will establish a list of about 100 of the most common
brand-name medications used to treat chronic or long-term
conditions.
- Certain types of drugs -- such as generics that are cheaper in
the United States, narcotics and medications that could spoil during
transit -- would not be included on the list.
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How is Illinois' program different from those in other states
like Wisconsin or Minnesota?
- Illinois will go beyond Canada and also include drugs from
approved European pharmacies.
- Illinois will contract with a pharmacy benefits manager in Canada
that will establish a network of approved pharmacies, process orders
and ensure a uniform set of safety procedures is followed for every
drug that is dispensed. The other states' websites simply link
consumers to Canadian pharmacy websites.
- Illinois will require that all network pharmacies and wholesalers
agree to be inspected by our regulators.
Who will inspect foreign pharmacies? How often?
- Regulators from or approved by the Department of Financial and
Professional Regulation and the Department of Public Health will do
the inspections. The inspections will take place prior to joining
the network and annually thereafter.

How many foreign pharmacies is Illinois currently working with?
- The initial goal would be to have approximately 35 to
50 pharmacies.
Why did Illinois need to look beyond Canada to access affordable
prescription drugs? How were the other European countries chosen and
why were some that were visited eliminated?
- Several pharmaceutical companies have limited drug supplies to
Canadian facilities that provide prescription medications to
Americans. This has created an artificial shortage of drugs from
Canada.
- The European research team visited Belgium, France, Germany,
Ireland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. We chose to use
only countries where English is the primary language -- just another
step to ensure that safety is preserved.
Why didn't Illinois sue the FDA like Vermont is?
- The attorney general's office filed a citizen's petition on
behalf of the residents of Illinois, requiring the FDA to respond
within six months.
- Though the FDA has rejected the earlier request for a waiver to
implement a pilot program, the citizens' petition is still pending,
so the state does not yet have legal recourse.
[News release]
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