Pharmacy groups opposes Governor’s plan to bring in Canadian drugs

A group that represents more than a thousand Iowa pharmacists opposes Governor Tom Vilsack’s plan to import prescription drugs from Canada Vilsack proposed buying drugs from Canada for state employees as a way to save money. He’s following the lead of the governor of Illinois who received permission from the federal government to import pharmaceuticals for state use. But Mark Richards, treasurer of the Iowa Pharmacy Association, says re-importation is unsafe.Richards, who owns a pharmacy in Des Moines, says rather than buying drugs from Canada, Vilsack should try to figure out why Canadian prescription drugs cost so much less. Richards says it’s because Canada has negotiated price discounts while the U.S. government has not. Richards says the pharmaceutical industry is the only area of health care that has never been subject to federal reviews and price controls.