Articles > Online Prescriptions

Lauzen looks north for prescriptions

By Mike Norbut

AURORA - Right now, Edward and Alice Oliva spend about $250 a month for prescription medication. With prices constantly on the rise, the drugs aren't getting any cheaper for the Sugar Grove senior citizens.

"They're going up all the time," Edward Oliva said. "We don't see a reason for it, either."
"In fact, we were thinking about driving up to Canada to buy them," Alice Oliva said. If a program suggested by state sen. Chris Lauzen takes root, the couple won't have to make that drive after all.

Lauzen, R-Aurora has established a pilot program for people who feel they pay too much for their medication. The program would allow them to send their prescriptions to a Canadian pharmacy, which many times would be able to fill orders at a markedly reduced rate. "I've read about people taking busloads across to Canada." Lauzen said. "But we're six or eight hours away here, so that's not going to work. Eventually, there's got to be a better way."

The program will start with about 25 participants, how will place their orders through Lauzen's office. Their prescriptions will be faxed to the pharmacy in Canada, and the drugs will then be shipped to Shafer's;s Galena Pharmacy in Aurora.

The program will be open to anyone who has substantial prescription drug bills every month, Lauzen said, although he expects most of the particpants would be seniors. As far as he knows, this type of program is not being tested anywhere else.

Lauzen said they were starting with a small number of people "to shake the bugs out," but, if it were successful, he expected there would be more people willing to help expand it.

"We don't want to create unrealistic expectations right now, "he said. To even think that way is like celebrating before you've won. When no one is trying something like this, it makes you think there must be problems out there.

Lauzen is looking for volunteers to participate. To sign up, call the senator's office at (630) 264-2334.

An initial meeting will be held June 2. Because of the fees attached to the drugs, participants are encouraged to order all the medications they require at one time.

On paper, the plan looks like a can't-miss opportunity for people who have to pay a lot for their medication out of their own pockets. Federal law allows for the reimportation of drugs - products that are shipped to other countries by American manufacturers and then sold back to American consumers - for personal consumption, provided they are approved by the Food and Drug Administration, Lauzen said.

Many well-known, FDA-approved medications have drastically different prices in the United States and Canada. For example, 90 doses of Actos, a Type II diabetes drug, costs nearly $425 in the Unites States vs. about $290 in Canada, according to a list provided by Lauzen's office. Meanwhile, 90 doses of Casodex, a drug to treat prostate cancer, costs almost $1,000 in the United states, while costing about $420 in Canada. "If we send it across the border and if it comes back, even in its original wrapper, that's great." Lauzen said. "I think that would be ideal."

Canadian law, meanwhile requires a physician to review each patient's case, meaning the concerns some people have about receiving tainted drugs because of an unregulated environment can be eased to some extent, according to Bill Murrin, a Geneva resident and volunteer who has researched the idea for Lauzen.

Even with physician's fees, shipping charges and the pharmacy's dispensing fee, the Canadian prices are substantially cheaper, Lauzen said. "There are restrictions in other countries," Murrin said. "But the view of most people is, let the market economy dictate the price."