Regulations allowing Canadian pharmacies to seek licenses to do business in Rhode Island went into effect Wednesday, but the state Department of Health, which would take the applications, doesn’t have the materials ready, Secretary of State Matt Brown said.
Brown, a strong supporter of Canadian drug importation as a way to push U.S. prescription prices down, said in a news release that his staff had gone to the Department of Health to get a copy of the licensure application so they could post it on Brown’s Web site, but they were told that the application packet was “under draft” and unavailable.
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Brown’s staff also called a number listed on the Health Web site for “interested parties” to request an application, and found no one answered “repeated” calls over two hours. Eventually the voice mail system said the mailbox was full.
“The time for talking about providing Rhode Islanders with safe, affordable prescription drugs is over – it’s time to get it done,” Brown said. “This is the latest delay by the Health Department in implementing this law. Every delay is another day our seniors are not able to access safe and affordable prescription drugs.”
Also Wednesday, however, the Rhode Island Pharmacists Association hosted a news conference at Charlesgate Nursing Center in Providence to promote alternatives to Rhode Island’s “illegal importation scheme” – most notably the Rx for Rhode Island program, which provides free and discounted prescriptions, mostly through pharmaceutical industry programs.
“While some today are celebrating a new law that puts Rhode Island in violation of a federal ban on drug importation, we should be collectively celebrating the success of many safe alternatives that are available right now for Rhode Islanders in need,” Jack Hutson, executive director of the pharmacists group, said in a news release.
“Throughout this debate on importation, I have consistently heard proponents report that too many Rhode Islanders are having to choose between taking their medication and eating,” Hutson added. “There is absolutely no reason why any Rhode Islander should have to make that choice given the programs that exist today.”
The event included testimonials by two Rx for Rhode Island beneficiaries, including one woman, Geraldine Forster, of Coventry, who said the program had “saved my life” by providing her with about $4,000 worth of free medicine.
In his news release, Brown called on the Department of Health to make Canadian pharmacy applications available “immediately.” Brown noted that the relevant regulations had been approved on Dec. 30, with “ample time” for the paperwork to be prepared. It’s unclear what changes health officials need to make in the first place, since under the regulations, Canadian pharmacies would follow the same approval process as out-of-state pharmacies.
