Maine to start importation of Rx drugs

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"AUGUSTA - Maine will challenge the federal Department of Health and Human Services by initiating a program to re-import drugs from Canada, Gov. John Baldacci announced Thursday. The state can't wait, the governor said, for the federal government to enact reforms that ensure affordable access to medications for all Americans and will instead take action on behalf of Maine citizens."
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"Maine is not the first state to propose or implement drug re-importation. Minnesota, Vermont, Illinois, the District of Columbia and several cities, including Portland, Maine, have established programs. Maine's plan differs in that it proposes to offer affordable drugs to the overall population and not just to state employees or some other targeted group. It also provides the actual drugs, under the supervision and approval of state officials, rather than just providing an opportunity to purchase them through a website, a practice often cited by critics of re-importation as a health and safety risk. By arranging for medicines to be purchased through local pharmacies, the state hopes to keep Maine's community drug stores viable and profitable."

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"Baldacci said Thursday he has written to federal Health Secretary Tommy Thompson, requesting official approval of Maine's re-importation plan. If that approval is denied, he said, the state will still move forward, prepared to meet whatever legal challenges may be presented in the future.

While Republicans have not allowed a vote on the issue this year, President Bush said at a campaign event in August that his administration is looking into re-importation as pressure builds in Congress to allow it.

In a statement commending Governor Baldacci and the Penobscot nation for their plan, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry urged the Bush administration to drop its opposition to re-importation.

"We can no longer afford a president who turns his back on the problem as drug prices go through the roof," Kerry said, adding that as president he would work with Maine and other states to ensure access to safe and affordable prescription drugs."

http://www.bangornews.com/editorialnews/article.cfm?ID=436709

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. I lurve my home state!

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2. It's my home state too!

Maine is great. I lived there for 22 of my 25 years. I've been living in Florida for the past 3 years. I'm dying to move back to Maine. It's such a great place to live.