Gov. Jim Doyle has not backed down amid accusations by representatives of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that he is breaking the law in his efforts to obtain cheaper prescription drugs for Wisconsin citizens.
\It's an extremely bad move. Clearly, it's illegal. More importantly, it's unsafe,"" Peter Pitts, FDA associate commissioner for external relations, told the Associated Press.
Last Thursday, Doyle precipitated response by the FDA when he announced plans to add links to Canadian pharmacies on Wisconsin's prescription drug Web site. Doyle's spokesperson, Dan Liestikow said Canadian prescriptions can be between 50 and 70 percent cheaper than equivalent drugs in the United States. Liestikow said the favorable exchange rate and Canadian price controls reduce drug prices in Canada.
In a conference call Monday, Doyle said he is not conducting civil disobedience to defy the federal government, but is merely trying to soften the financial burden that prescriptions place on Wisconsin residents. Doyle said Minnesota has a Web site that allows citizens to actually buy Canadian drugs directly through the site; the Wisconsin site would merely include links to pharmacies to view prices and possibly purchase drugs on an individual basis.
""The FDA has not acted against Minnesota for its site; we'll take that as a sign of approval. We're moving forward,"" Liestikow said.
Attending the National Governors Association Winter Meeting this week, Doyle said it is clear nearly every state is dealing with high prescription drug costs. Republican and Democratically controlled state governments oppose President Bush's administration and the FDA, as money available to states in past years has disappeared.
""Federal money that has come for some time to the state under approved plans is now being turned down by the federal government,"" Doyle said. ""There has been a lot of frustration expressed by governors of both parties as everybody's grappling with these same kinds of Medicaid problems.""
The NGA's meeting has provided a medium for the state governors to discuss the problem with administration and FDA officials, according to Doyle. He said there was an emphasis from both sides on the need to work together rather than against each other to achieve the goal of lowering prescription drug costs.
""Both Secretary [of Health and Human Services, Tommy] Thompson and the president indicated they were willing to work with [the governors] to try and meet the challenge,"" Doyle said.
