Illinois report on Canada drug plan knocked by FDA

CHICAGO -- A state report that estimates Illinois could save $91 million a year by buying drugs from Canada inflates the savings and wrongly assumes Canadian health authorities can guarantee the safety of drugs sent to the United States, the Food and Drug Administration said Friday.

The FDA, in a letter to Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration, characterized the governor's proposal to buy drugs from Canada as unsafe.

"The U.S. public health system should not be undermined by schemes that put those most in need most directly at risk," said the letter, signed by associate commissioner for policy William Hubbard.

Bringing prescription drugs into the United States from abroad, where they are often cheaper, is illegal, but the federal government has not tried to block individuals from traveling to Canada to fill prescriptions.

Blagojevich has lobbied Congress to allow states to do the same.

Illinois spent $340 million on prescription drugs for its employees and retirees last fiscal year, a 15 percent increase from the previous year. The state report, commissioned by the governor, said Illinois could save more than a fifth of that if all eligible prescriptions were filled through a Canadian mail order plan.

In its letter, the FDA said the report had inflated the state's potential savings because not all state employees and retirees are expected to participate and because other costs, such as shipping, are not included. The report also doesn't address liability concerns, the FDA said.

The Blagojevich administration dismissed the criticism.

Blagojevich spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff said any employees and retirees who are harmed would have legal recourse in Canada or Illinois. And Scott McKibbin, an author of the report, said shipping costs were factored in.

"In 12 months of repeat prescriptions, what you're going to end up with in savings is $91 million," McKibbin said.

Brand-name drugs often cost less in Canada because of government price controls. The Associated Press reported Wednesday that its own survey of comparable U.S. and Canadian prices for 10 popular drugs found the Canadian prices were 33 percent to 80 percent cheaper.