|
The program's expansion will allow the state to reduce its annual
prescription drug costs and reduce, and sometimes even eliminate,
co-payments for state employees and dependents. Currently,
co-payments on brand-name prescription drugs for those in the
state's health insurance program range from $20 to $80. The expanded
program for employees will be voluntary. Illinois was the first
state in the nation to make safe, affordable prescription drugs from
other countries available to its citizens. The announcement comes
in the wake of a report released Sept. 19 by the Illinois auditor
general that the I-Save Rx program violates federal law. In a letter
to FDA Acting Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach, Blagojevich vowed
to continue the importation program, which helps senior citizens and
the uninsured afford the medications prescribed by their doctors.
Blagojevich wrote: "Please be advised that while we highly
respect and very much appreciate our auditor general's work, and
while we will implement as many of his recommendations as possible,
we fully intend to continue allowing the people of Illinois to
purchase safe, affordable medicine from approved pharmacies in
Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. We will not
be bullied or pressured by the FDA into choosing drug company
profits ahead of the basic needs of senior citizens and the
uninsured.
"In addition, we are also going to move forward and expand the I-SaveRx
program by making it available to state employees and dependents.
Given that the state's annual costs for providing prescription drugs
to employees, dependents and others (prisoners, patients in state
facilities and others whose care is covered by the state) has
increased by an average of 15 percent per year over the last five
years, and given that employees and retirees often face brand-name
co-payments of $40-$80, broadening the scope of I-SaveRx will help
the taxpayers save money by reducing the state's prescription drug
costs. It will also help employees save money because they would no
longer have to make co-payments when the medication they need is
available at far less cost from pharmacies in Canada, United
Kingdom, Australia or New Zealand. As we implement as many of the
auditor general's findings as possible for our program, we will keep
those recommendations in mind as we expand the program to state
employees, dependents and others."
The governor also called on the FDA to drop its stance opposing
importation of prescription drugs and develop a national program
that all states can participate in, rather than forcing states to
construct their own programs -- programs that could conflict with
local rules and forms that were created long before the concept of
importation was envisioned.
Blagojevich wrote, "When states like Illinois take on a
responsibility that ought to belong to the federal government, that
requires creating a complicated program that will not be in lock
step with every local rule and regulation created [in] a time before
anyone envisioned the concept of reimportation of prescription
drugs.
"No governor and no administration wants to incur audit findings
saying that they are operating a program in violation of federal
law. But when the choice is helping people afford the medicine they
need or incurring audit findings, there's really no choice. Please
understand that while we will do everything in our power to
implement some of the auditor general's recommendations, we will not
cease operation of the I-SaveRx program.
[to top of second column]
 |
 "Your decision to make Plan B available over the counter
indicates that you are willing to look at issues in a way different
from your predecessors. Hopefully you will take a look at the FDA's
policy opposing reimportation of prescription drugs and recognize
that a national policy that helps our citizens access the global
marketplace is the better approach."
The governor launched I-SaveRx in October 2004 to provide
Illinoisans a safe and affordable way to purchase many of the most
common name-brand prescription drugs from pharmacies in Canada and
Europe, where they cost up to 70 percent less.
Under the expanded program, which will be in operation by spring
2007, employees who choose to fill eligible prescriptions through I-SaveRx
will pay a reduced co-payment or no co-payment at all. Currently,
participants in the state's health insurance programs pay anywhere
from $20 to $80 in co-payments for brand-name prescription drugs,
depending on whether the drug is on the state's formulary. If the
prescription is for a maintenance drug, the patient is allowed only
two retail fills; then they are required to use mail-order, or else
they must pay $40 retail for a formulary drug and $80 retail for
nonformulary. The co-pay for mail-order is lower: $40 for a
three-month supply of a formulary drug and $80 for a three-month
supply of a nonformulary drug.
Over the last five years, the state has seen its prescription
drug costs increase by an average of 15 percent per year, far
outpacing the cost of Medicaid, which increased in fiscal 2006 by
just 1.4 percent -- the sixth-lowest increase in the nation. The
same prescription drugs that are sold in the United States are
available at prices up to 70 percent cheaper outside the United
States. For example, Prevacid, a name-brand medication used to treat
heartburn and acid reflux, costs 64 percent less in Australia than
in the U.S., 55 percent less in the United Kingdom and 44 percent
less in Canada.
Employees and taxpayers alike will benefit from the I-SaveRx
expansion. State employees can save at least $160 annually on
out-of-pocket costs for co-payments, while the state will be able to
save hundreds annually on the cost of common maintenance medications
that are filled through the importation program. For example, for
each prescription, the state can:
-
Save $890 annually
on Advair Diskus, used to treat asthma, when purchased from
Australia.
-
Save $340 annually
on Actos, used to treat diabetes, when purchased from the United
Kingdom.
-
Save $1,017
annually on Casodex, used to treat prostate cancer, when
purchased from Canada.
-
Save $250 annually
on Nexium, used to treat heartburn and acid reflux disease, when
purchased from the United Kingdom.
-
Save $675 annually
on Zyprexa, used to treat mental health issues, when purchased
from the United Kingdom.
Employees who use I-SaveRx will save at least $160 annually in
co-payments.
A copy of the governor's letter to the FDA acting commissioner is
available
here.
[To download Adobe Acrobat Reader for the PDF
file, click here.]
[News release from the governor's
office]
 |
