Posted At PharmaLive
BY : Senator John F. Kerry
A recent AARP investigation confirmed what Illinois pharmacists have been saying for the last several years: there are many ways to access lower priced prescription drugs within our borders without going to Canada. Reported in the January Edition of AARP Bulletin (Vol.47, No.1, P.22) in a story entitled, "The New Medicare Math: Cheaper than Canada?" AARP's investigation found that many seniors will have access to less expensive medications when ordering their drugs through Medicare than if they purchase their drugs from Canada. The article states, "Many who choose the least expensive Medicare drug plan that covers all their drugs could pay less this year than if they got those same drugs from Canada.""This study reaffirms our concerns about buying drugs from foreign sources and importing drugs through Governor Blagojevich's misguided I-SaveRx program," said Mike Patton, Executive Director of the Illinois Pharmacists Association (IPhA). "With the new Medicare drug benefit taking affect earlier this month, and other patient assistance programs like TogetherRx Access and the Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA), Americans do not have to gamble with their safety to receive lower-cost medications. I hope that this investigation finally convinces the relatively few individuals who have signed-up for Governor Blagojevich's failing I-SaveRx program to reevaluate the risks they are taking when importing drugs from foreign countries."
The study conducted by AARP compared the 2006 estimated annual cost for the least expensive Medicare drug plan for individual seniors with the current costs of the exact same drugs imported from Canada. The comparison also took into account the premiums, deductibles, and co-payments associated with the Medicare plan. According to the article, "All of the people for whom (AARP) ran the numbers last month ... who were currently buying drugs from Canada, said they would probably sign-up with a Medicare plan before the May 15 deadline."
"It's important that seniors do their homework and calculate the math, just as AARP Bulletin has, to find which Medicare drug plan is right for them and will save the most money," said Patton. "All seniors have to do is follow the same process that the investigation did. Go to Medicare's Web site, medicare.gov, and plug in your ZIP code, drug names, and almost instantly you see what your annual costs would be under each plan."
The Illinois Pharmacists Association is dedicated to enhancing the professional competency of pharmacists, advancing the standards of pharmacy practice, improving pharmacists' effectiveness in assuring rational drug use in society, and leading in the resolution of public policy issues affecting pharmacist.
