Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

Plan to import Canadian drugs proposed

State Democrats announced a plan Thursday to open Nevada's borders to Canadian prescription drugs, an idea they said would save the state and its residents millions of dollars.

Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, said several states are using a loophole in Food and Drug Administration guidelines to help their residents order Canadian drugs over the Internet.

Nevada also could provide Canadian drugs for state prisoners and people enrolled in programs such as Senior Rx, the low-cost drug program for low-income people older than 62.

States such as Minnesota and Wisconsin have saved hundreds of millions while helping residents find safe drugs in Canada, Buckley said.

"It's just astronomical the differences," she said. "It's just a sad irony that drugs made in the United States cost more in the United States than in Canada."

Five other states and four cities have encouraged residents to purchase Canadian drugs online or provided the drugs to state employees, patients or prisoners, according to research from The Council of State Governments.

Eight other states and several cities are considering new programs, the group said.

So far, none of them have been legally challenged, Buckley said. They're using a loophole in federal regulations that allow patients to use drugs for "personal use."

"Not one city, not one state has been stopped by the federal government," she said. "Obviously, they won't like it. They've made it clear they want the drug companies to be able to charge more to people in the United States than Canada."

Assembly Minority Leader Lynn Hettrick, R-Gardnerville, called it a "feel-good idea" that might not work.

He said he also attended recent sessions of The Council of State Governments and found out that drug companies have caught on to the growing number of governments finding ways to import drugs from Canada.

Drug companies probably will stop sending a surplus amount of drugs to Canada, he said.

"They're going to cut the supply so Canada can only supply its own needs," he said.

"Essentially, it's going to dry up. It's not going to be available."

The programs now in place vary. Minnesota, for example, provides information for customers to order drugs at www.state.mn.us/cgi-bin/portal/mn/jsp/ home.do?agency=Rx.

North Dakota simply links its state Web site to a pharmacy in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Wisconsin links state residents to www.drugsavings.wi.gov, while Rhode Island provides a link to Wisconsin's link.

The Wisconsin site includes a disclaimer saying federal law allows only "personal" use of prescription drugs and "the user of this Web site assumes sole responsibility for any decisions made based upon visiting this web site, including the purchase of any and all prescription medications from the Canadian pharmacies listed herein."

Nevada law already allows the state to license pharmacies out of the country, Buckley said. If Nevada wanted to, the state Board of Pharmacy could inspect and license some pharmacies in Canada to ensure safety.

Illinois, for example, is proposing a plan to allow employees and retirees to go to a central repository for refills on certain drugs. Pharmacists from the University of Illinois, Chicago will randomly inspect the drugs to ensure they are safe.

"Nevada could go further to ensure safety," Buckley said.

Several in the state government said they're willing to look at the idea but want to ensure it is legal.

Greg Bortolin, press secretary to Gov. Kenny Guinn, said Guinn "is looking forward to reviewing this one and all the other proposals as he builds his budget."

Debbra King, deputy director of Medicaid, said a 1990 federal law prohibits the state from importing drugs from Canada for the Medicaid law.

Mike Willden, director of the state Department of Human Resources, said the Democratic plan "is news to me and I was not involved in it."

"The last position I heard it was illegal," he said. "The FDA says you're not supposed to do it"

Willden oversees the most agencies where the clients are given drugs, such as mental health, Medicaid, children services and youth reformatories, and Senior RX.

He said he knew some municipalities, including Boston, are doing it. He said he has been monitoring the Boston situation.

The idea of encouraging drugs from Canada was one of several announced Thursday as the Democrat's healthcare agenda for the 2005 legislative session.

Democrats also want to change state law to help funnel mentally ill patients from emergency rooms to state mental care facilities.

Clark County called a state of emergency in July because emergency rooms were overwhelmed. On July 9, as many as 95 patients were waiting in Las Vegas emergency rooms for a transfer to the state mental health facility -- about 20 percent of all emergency room beds.

"The status quo is just not acceptable," Buckley said.

Democrats also want to allow seniors to break their leases without penalty if they need to transfer to an assisted living center or live with relatives due to their illness or age.

According to data from 2000, people 65 and older comprised an estimated 11.6 percent of the renter-occupied houses in the state, Democrats said.

Hettrick said he thought this might interfere with state law on contracts, because leases qualify as contracts. He said it would be better to encourage landlords and seniors to negotiate an escape clause into leases than have the state interfere in contracts signed by two consenting parties.

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