Posted At Kare11
By: Martiga Lohn
Gov. Tim Pawlenty shared a limousine ride with President Bush on the way to a community center Friday where Bush would tout his Medicare prescription drug benefit.
But a spokesman said Pawlenty didn't bring up his own alternative to high drug prices: Canadian imports.
Pawlenty has put Minnesota on the front lines of the drug importation debate by setting up the first state-sponsored Web site to help residents get cheaper medications from Canada. The Bush administration opposes the practice.
It's one of the few issues that divide the leaders, both Republicans. Among Minnesotans, Pawlenty is significantly more popular than Bush, with an approval rating of 56 percent compared to 42 percent for Bush in polls by the Star Tribune of Minneapolis.
Pawlenty has tapped into popular support for cheaper prescription drugs and pushed the issue of importing them from countries with price controls. Just last week, he said the Minnesota RxConnect program would add British pharmacies to its Canadian suppliers in case Canada or the drug industry chokes off imports to Americans.
Federal regulators strongly oppose Minnesota's import program, warning that they can't guarantee the safety of drugs from outside U.S. borders. But they haven't gone after consumers who import medications for personal use, even though the practice is technically illegal.
Barbara Kaufman, president of the Minnesota Senior Federation, said she hoped to urge Bush to sign legislation allowing drug imports from Canada and other countries.
But she didn't make the cut for a small-group dialogue with the president, even though she was among those vetted. The Democrat from Plymouth has shaved thousands of dollars off her costs by buying some medications from Canada for the past four years.
"The long-range solution to the drug problem is making drugs affordable for everyone," Kaufman said, adding that she'd prefer to buy drugs at Canadian prices at her neighborhood pharmacy.
Kaufman said she expects the Medicare drug benefit to help some seniors -- especially those with the lowest incomes or catastrophic health problems -- but for others, it will cost more, she said. Kaufman intends to sign up anyway because she'll face a financial penalty later if she waits.
Brand-name drugs may still cost less in Canada -- currently they're about 40 percent cheaper -- even after the Medicare benefit kicks in next year, said Lee Graczyk, legislative director for the Minnesota Senior Federation. The group helps its members get prescriptions filled in Canada.
"At least until we see how it plays out, Canada may remain a very viable alternative," Graczyk said.
The Medicare drug benefit kicks in after the member pays a $250 deductible and covers three-fourths of the next $2,250 in drug costs. But there's no benefit between $2,250 and $5,100, a $2,850 gap in coverage. Low-income beneficiaries qualify for more aid.
Americans will have to buy American-approved drugs to satisfy the deductible and other out-of-pocket costs -- imports won't count, Graczyk said.
"It's less than meets the eye," said Brian Berggren, an Inver Grove Heights retiree who was at the state Capitol Friday to protest Bush's Social Security plan.
More than 675,000 Minnesotans were enrolled in Medicare in July 2003, the latest federal count available from the Minnesota Department of Health. That dwarfs the state's RxConnect Web site, whose users had filled more than 13,000 prescriptions between early 2004 and last month.
