Illinois and Wisconsin have launched the first state-sponsored program to help residents buy cheaper prescription drugs from both Europe and Canada according to wire service reports.
Federal laws ban the importing of prescription drugs.
The Food and Drug Administration had no immediate comment.
The program, I-SaveRx, works through a Canada-based clearinghouse and claims it can save residents 25% to 50% off U.S. retail prices on about 100 prescription medications.
“Now, the nearly 13 million people who live in Illinois and the more than five million people who live in Wisconsin will have the opportunity to save hundreds--and in some cases even thousands--of dollars each year on the high cost of their medicine,” said Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich in a statement.
By including pharmacies in Ireland and the U.K., I-SaveRx goes beyond programs in other states that direct residents on how to buy prescription drugs from Canada, where drugs are often cheaper because of government price controls.
