Posted At Winnipeg Sun
BY :
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Two years ago, Gov. Tim Pawlenty took a stand against high drug prices by promoting Canadian pharmacies that offered savings. Now he's taking a different approach: a discount program for the uninsured that would use the state's negotiating power to lower prices.
Yesterday, Pawlenty unveiled the Minnesota Pharmacy Access Program which could help about 13,000 uninsured Minnesotans save money at their local pharmacies. But first, legislators would have to approve. The Senate's lead Democrat on health care said she backs the plan.
"We want to offer Minnesotans more options and more discounts," the Republican governor said at a news conference.
Business falls
Business to the state's RxConnect website, which links residents to Canadian and British pharmacies, has fallen from its high in January 2005. Pawlenty said that's "understandable and predictable" as about 700,000 elderly and disabled Minnesotans became eligible for federal drug coverage through Medicare at the start of this year. However, seven weeks into the program fewer than half of them have signed up. Pawlenty wants to change that, and also proposed spending $4.5 million US over the next three years to help people enrol in Medicare drug plans, which have been riddled with administrative problems. The money for both the governor's proposals would come from a health-care fund.
Senator Linda Berglin said the Pharmacy Access Program would offer the uninsured the best deal -- with prices lower than those offered by Canadian pharmacies. She said the Senate approved a similar plan last year, but it didn't survive end-of-session negotiations.
"It is the best price available," Berglin said. "It's a better price than you can get in Canada."
