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"Rather than take
drastic action that would unnecessarily harm millions of people, I
urge you to consider instead strengthening your regulations to
ensure Canadian doctors have the information they need to safely
co-sign or rewrite prescriptions for American patients," the
governor wrote. "Two million
Americans are currently acquiring much-needed prescription drugs
from Canada, and by doing so, they avoid having to make the choice
between their medicine and their next meal. When our citizens can
get access to the medications they need at prices they can afford,
they can live healthier and more productive lives."
Canadian Health Minister Ujjal
Dosanjh has recommended a plan to stop Canadian exports of
prescription medication, citing concerns that Canadian physicians do
not have enough information to adequately determine whether a
prescription for a patient they haven't examined in person is
appropriate.
Gov. Blagojevich pointed out that
during more than a year of research into the savings and safety of
prescription drug importation, his health and regulatory experts
have worked out a process under the I-SaveRx program that could
serve as a model for Canadian regulators.
"In order to ensure that doctors
working with the I-SaveRx program have the information that they
need to rewrite a prescription, I-SaveRx program participants must
fill out a detailed health history form. Furthermore, prescriptions
can only be filled through I-SaveRx if the participant has been
taking that medication for at least 30 days, and their licensed U.S.
physician writes an original refill prescription. With these
provisions, doctors and patients can be assured that only the
appropriate medications are dispensed through this program," the
governor said in his letter.
"Should you choose to change the
Canadian regulations, I would urge you to require detailed health
history forms be filled out by non-Canadians purchasing drugs from
Canadian pharmacies by mail order and only allow refill
prescriptions to be filled for export. With these changes, you could
address the concerns raised by your health minister, Ujjal Dosanjh,
without cutting off an absolutely critical supply of affordable
drugs for millions of Americans."
Blagojevich launched the I-SaveRx
program in early October 2004, along with Gov. Jim Doyle of
Wisconsin. Since then, the states of Missouri and Kansas have joined
I-SaveRx. Residents of the four states are able to purchase
approximately 150 of the most common name-brand medications used to
treat chronic conditions from state-inspected and approved
pharmacies in Canada and the United Kingdom. Retail prices in those
countries are 25 percent to 50 percent less than in the United
States.
Frustrated with inaction from the
Bush administration in helping Americans find relief from the
highest drug prices in the world, Gov. Blagojevich and Wisconsin
Gov. Jim Doyle co-signed a letter Wednesday to the president urging
him to use the full diplomatic influence of the United States to
discourage Canada from restricting Americans from purchasing safe,
affordable prescription medications. ["Govs. Blagojevich and
Doyle urge Bush to take action on possible restriction of prescription drugs
from Canada," posted Jan. 6]
[News release from the
governor's office]
[to top of second column] |
Text of letter to Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin:
Office of the Governor
Rod R. Blagojevich
JRTC, 100 West Randolph, Suite 16-100
Chicago, Illinois 60601
January 6, 2005
The Right Honourable Paul Martin
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A2
Dear Prime Minister Martin,
I understand that the Canadian
government is planning to effectively ban prescription drug exports
from Canada by requiring American patients to be physically examined
by a Canadian doctor.
Rather than take drastic action that
would unnecessarily harm millions of people, I urge you to consider
instead strengthening your regulations to ensure Canadian doctors
have the information they need to safely co-sign or re-write
prescriptions for American patients.
Two million Americans are currently
acquiring much needed prescription drugs from Canada, and by doing
so, they avoid having to make the choice between their medicine and
their next meal. When our citizens can get access to the medications
they need at prices they can afford, they can live healthier and
more productive lives.
Unfortunately, the Federal Government
in the United States has not yet taken action to address the
extraordinarily high drug costs in this country. Thus, I, along with
the Governors of Wisconsin, Missouri, and Kansas have decided to
provide our citizens with some relief from these high prices through
a program I created called I-SaveRx. As you may be aware, this
program enables individuals in our four states to purchase their
prescriptions from state inspected and approved pharmacies in Canada
and the United Kingdom at discounts of 25%-50% off the retail prices
here in the United States.
We have closely studied the many
safety concerns surrounding this issue, and designed the I-SaveRx
program to directly address those issues. In order to ensure that
doctors working with the I-SaveRx program have the information that
they need to re-write a prescription, I-SaveRx program participants
must fill out a detailed health history form. Furthermore,
prescriptions can only be filled through I-SaveRx if the participant
has been taking that medication for at least 30 days, and their
licensed U.S. physician writes an original refill prescription. With
these provisions, doctors and patients can be assured that only the
appropriate medications are dispensed through this program.
Should you choose to change the
Canadian regulations, I would urge you to require detailed health
history forms be filled out by non-Canadians purchasing drugs from
Canadian pharmacies by mail order, and only allow refill
prescriptions to be filled for export. With these changes, you could
address the concerns raised by your health Minister, Ujjal Dosanjh,
without cutting off an absolutely critical supply of affordable
drugs for millions of Americans.
As you are aware, this program, and
others like it, pose no threat at this time to the drug supply
available to Canadian citizens. In the absence of any harm to the
citizens of your country, I can see no reason why you would take an
action that would not only stop the flow of hundreds of millions of
American dollars into the Canadian economy, but would also cause
unnecessary hardship for millions of your neighbors to the south.
On behalf of the 12.6 million
residents of Illinois, and millions of other Americans who are
struggling everyday with the high costs of prescription drugs, I
request that you reconsider any plans to end Canadian drug exports.
If you would like to discuss this
issue further, I would be happy to meet with you or your
representative at a time that is convenient for you.
I thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Governor Rod R. Blagojevich |
