Contact:
Jessica Erickson, Governor’s Office, 608-261-2156
Important Cancer, Asthma, Diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and
Parkinson Medications Offer Savings of 51 percent
Governor Jim Doyle announced today that the state’s
prescription drug website – drugsavings.wi.gov – which allows citizens to
purchase safe, affordable prescription drugs from Canada, is being expanded
with 30 additional medications. The Governor also announced the latest
figures showing the incredible interest in the site and the number of people
who have used the site so far.
“For Wisconsin citizens who are battling against cancer,
asthma, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson disease – and are also battling
with the high price of prescription drugs – this expanded list of
medications will mean real help,” Governor Doyle said.
As of May 7, the site had more than 107,000 unique visitors,
averaging 1,500 visits a day since the site was launched on February 25.
The State of Rhode Island has linked to Wisconsin’s website – generating at
least 960 visitors. Additionally, from February 25 to March 31, there were
421 orders involving 765 prescriptions totaling $94,340 through
www.drugsavings.wi.gov. In comparison, in its first three weeks,
Minnesota’s prescription drug reimportation website had approximately 100
orders.
“I am pleased that hundreds of Wisconsin citizens have been
able to use our site to find significant savings on their prescription
bills,” Governor Doyle said. “But it is also clear that there are still
significant barriers to Wisconsin residents getting access to these lower
price prescription drugs. If the federal government would simply allow
people to purchase these medications from Canada at local pharmacies here in
Wisconsin, many more citizens would participate. With 107,000 visitors to
our website, it is clear there is tremendous interest in these lower price
prescription drugs.”
Attached is a list of six commonly prescribed medications
that are new to the website that offer savings of up to 51 percent.
Governor Doyle has been a national leader in the fight for
lower price prescription drugs from Canada, working closely with Minnesota
Governor Tim Pawlenty. In February, Wisconsin became the second state in
the nation to establish a prescription drug importation website,
www.drugsavings.wi.gov.
Last month, Governor Doyle testified before the federal Drug
Importation Task Force to urge the federal government to grant approval for
safe reimportation of U.S. approved prescription drugs from Canada. The
Task Force, chaired by U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona, was mandated
by Congress as part of the Medicare Prescription Drug Act to study the
safety and feasibility of allowing drug importation from Canada.
The Governor has also asked Attorney General John Ashcroft
to launch an anti-trust investigation of drug companies that have threatened
to cause shortages in Canada and blacklisted Canadian pharmacies that do
business with U.S. customers.