The Texas House on Sunday voted 114-17 on an amendment that would allow residents to purchase lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada, the AP/Dallas Morning News reports. The amendment, which was attached to a bill that reauthorizes the Texas State Board of Pharmacy, would require the pharmacy board to inspect no more than 10 Canadian pharmacies and ensure that they meet FDA, Texas and Canadian standards. Information about those pharmacies and how to order prescription drugs from them would be listed on the board's Web site. Individuals and Texas pharmacies would be able to purchase only those drugs approved by FDA. In addition, only drugs that are prescribed for long-term use could be ordered, and no more than a 90-day supply could be purchased at one time. A Canadian pharmacy could not fill a first-time prescription (AP/Dallas Morning News, 5/23). At least nine other states and the District of Columbia have similar Web sites, according to state Rep. Scott Hochberg (R-Texas), the sponsor of the bill. If the state Senate does not approve the House version of the pharmacy board reauthorization, the legislation would go to committee, where the reimportation provision could be changed or deleted (Robison, Houston Chronicle, 5/23). The bill "would provide the safety and the cost savings" for Texas consumers, Hochberg said. He added that the measure would protect Texans trying to save hundreds of dollars on expensive drugs from scammers selling counterfeit medicine online. "For a lot of people, it's a difficult choice: You get to either buy your medicine or buy food," Hochberg said (AP/Dallas Morning News, 5/23). State Rep. Vicki Truitt (R-Texas), who opposes the measure, said, "A pharmacy may meet the standards, but how do we know that the drugs do?" (Houston Chronicle, 5/23).

Haverhill, Mass., Considers Reimportation Plan
Haverhill, Mass., is considering a plan that would allow municipal employees to purchase prescription drugs from Canada as part of an effort to control the city's growing health care budget, the Boston Globe reports. Haverhill Mayor James Fiorentini said the program could reduce health spending by about $200,000. The city's health care costs account for about $19 million of its total $130 million budget, according to the Globe. Haverhill's health care costs have grown by about 15% per year. The city's Insurance Advisory Committee met with representatives from three Canadian mail-order prescription companies -- K-tel Drug Mart of Canada, Canusa Health and CanAm Health Source -- but "stopped short of an official endorsement because of concerns about recommending a program that is illegal" under federal law, according to the Globe. Fiorentini, who also is meeting with the companies, has authority to approve a reimportation plan. Fiorentini said he first began considering a reimportation program after Boston Mayor Thomas Menino discussed the issue at a 2004 conference. He solicited proposals from Canadian companies and wrote to U.S. mail-order drug companies to determine if they could match the Canadian prices, but received no response. Haverhill employees already have the option of a domestic mail-order drug plan in addition to a traditional prescription plan. Other cities in the state -- Springfield, Boston, Worcester, Pittsfield and Revere -- offer Canadian mail-order plans to municipal employees. Fiorentini said, "Health care costs ultimately have the potential to bankrupt every city in this state. Every mayor is worried about that." He added, "My thought is that I'm probably going to do it" (Goldstein, Boston Globe, 5/22).