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Governor Brian Schweitzer says the U.S. Veterans Administration pays half of what Montana pharmacies pay for prescription drugs, and that price difference has prompted the Governor to ask the VA to start filling the prescriptions of Montana citizens.

Schweitzer said on Wednesday, "It's very easy to understand that the pharmaceutical companies charge much less for many countries around the world. They have even negotiated a much lower price for the Veterans Administration. So if they can sell it to the Veterans Administration, and they can sell it to Alberta for 45 cents on the dollar, they should be able to sell it in Montana for 45 cents on the dollar."

The Governor predicts this deal would save Montanans up to $240-million dollars per year, and would generate $77-million dollars for the VA.

The VA has not yet responded to the letter.

WEB EXTRA: here is the full text of Schweitzer's letter to the VA.

Secretary Eric Shinseki
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Avenue NW
Washington D.C. 20420

Dear Secretary Shinseki:

During this time of economic recession, families across Montana have made very tough choices to balance their budgets. I believe there is one area where our partnership could help Montana families and veterans in making those tough decisions.

I am asking you to join me in my fight against the unfair drug pricing that results in Montanans (including many veterans) paying higher costs for their medications than is necessary. By allowing Montana citizens to purchase prescription drugs from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) at a reasonable markup of 20%, Montanans would benefit from lower prices and the VA would benefit from the revenue generated by the sales.

Montana has 108,000 veterans - more veterans per capita than almost any other state. This proud military tradition continues with our active duty, reserve and National Guard men and women serving across the globe today. Montanans respect that tradition and rightfully insist that both our currently serving soldiers and our veterans of all ages receive the care they were promised and deserve. By allowing Montanans to purchase prescription drugs from the VA we estimate they would save up to $240 million a year and at the same time provide additional revenue for essential VA services in our Montana communities.

We would propose that Montana pharmacies purchase the medicine from the VA. Montanans currently pay about $700 million per year for prescription drugs. You pay around half of what a Montana pharmacy pays for prescription drugs and if you sold that medicine to our pharmacies with a 20% markup, we estimate you could generate an additional $77 million to use in providing care for Montana veterans. That works out to about $713 per veteran per year in Montana. In addition, Montana consumers would save about 35% on their medications or about $240 million per year.

Here are some examples of the wholesale cost difference with highly used medications:

Thank you for your consideration of this request. I look forward to further dialogue on this issue.

Sincerely,

BRIAN SCHWEITZER
Governor