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No word on the amount of Misssouri recipients under the I-SaveRX low cost prescription drug program

December 7, 2004
By: Dustin Blanchard
State Capital Bureau

Kansas joined Missouri and two other states in the I-SaveRX prescription drug program last week. Dustin Blanchard has more on the program from Jefferson City.

There's no word on the amount of prescription drugs Missourians have acquired through the I-SaveRX program since the state joined more than a month ago.

The program allows residents of Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin and now Kansas to purchase low-cost prescription drugs from Canada and the United Kingdom.

Abby Ottenhoff, spokesperson for Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich -- who initiated the program, says that the program has seen a great response.

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Contents: More than 1400 people have completed the enrollment process and ordered their medications. About 33-thousand have downloaded the enrollment form or have called in to our toll free number to have the enrollment form sent to them.

Those numbers are total for the four participating states.

Ottenhoff says the program does not have a count of Missouri participants.

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Kansas joined the I-SaveRX program last week... but it will have no more direct control in the program than the other three particpating states. Dustin Blanchard tells why Missouri officials say the program is out of their hands.

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Missouri Health Department Spokesperson Nancy Gondour says the department has no control over the program, which allows Missouri residents to import cheap prescription drugs from Canada and the United Kingdom.

Abby Ottenhoff, spokesperson for Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich -- who initiated the program, says none of the four participating states have direct control over the program.

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Contents: Basically, we have an administrator, a clearinghouse that's based in Canada, that receives all the information from people who are interested in the program, processes their enrollment information, and just makes sure that we have all of the relevant information.

Ottenhoff says that more than 1400 people total have ordered drugs through the program, but does not have state-by-state numbers.

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Kansas joined Missouri and two other states in the I-SaveRx prescription drug program last week. Dustin Blanchard has more on the program from the State Capitol.

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Missourians have been able to purchase cheap prescription drugs from Canada and the United Kingdom since the state joined Wisconsin and Illinois in the program more than a month ago.

Abby Ottenhoff, spokesperson for Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, who initiated the program, says more than 1400 people have ordered drugs through the program in total, and she expects more states to join the program soon.

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Contents: There are a lot of other governors out there working on their own efforts, and here's a way that we can join forces together and really broaden the access to affordable, safe medications from Canada and the United Kingdom.

Still, the participating states have little direct control over the program. A call to the Missouri health department or the governor's office will direct you to the Illinois governor's office.

But, Blagojevich's office doesn't handle all program matters... a Canadian clearinghouse actually administers the I-SaveRX program