Gov. Gary Locke Promotes Access to Canadian Drugs through State’s Rx Washington Web Site

OLYMPIA – Gov. Gary Locke announced that Washington residents will now be able to directly access lower-priced prescription drugs from Canada through the state’s Rx Washington Web site. “I’ve long worked to make health care and prescription drugs affordable for the people of Washington, especially our senior citizens,” Locke said. “Caring for our seniors is a paramount duty for all of us. We need to provide the care our seniors need, but financial pressures leave our seniors with making a decision every month whether to buy their prescriptions. Some seniors are even rationing their prescription drugs to make them last longer.” The Web site is a partnership with the states of Minnesota and Wisconsin to provide access to approved Canadian pharmacies that Minnesota has visited and found to be safe, reputable and reliable. The site provides a price comparison for common brand name drugs and hyperlinks to the Canadian pharmacies and offers suggestions for when their use might be appropriate. Locke also unveiled a Washington retail price comparison information service that will be available on the Rx Washington Web site by Dec. 1. It will provide prices for the most commonly used prescription drugs from a variety of drugstore retailers. In order to assure that communities in Washington are aware of these new resources, Locke announced workshops that will be held during the next 10 months through a partnership with the state and the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP). These workshops, scheduled to begin in December, will educate senior citizens about the resources available on the Web site and help them get the best deals on prescriptions drugs. Approximately 31 percent of Washington state seniors age 65 and older do not have prescription drug coverage, and an additional 500,000 people under age 65 are without insurance. That means a total of 710,000 Washington residents can benefit most from the new prescription drug resources Locke introduced today. Seniors with Medicare discount cards will have additional savings after finding the lowest base price. Seniors without prescription drug coverage spent an average of $1,190 on prescription drugs in 2003 – $520 more than those who had some form of coverage. Seniors on Medicare spend an average of 22 percent of their income on healthcare. “It’s exasperating knowing there is medicine available to assist a person who is ill, but they can’t afford it,” Locke said. “It would be nice if the federal government could help facilitate safe and legal drug importation from Canada instead of forcing us to taking matters into our own hands.”