Starting next week, Wisconsin will have a state Web site where residents can buy cheap prescription drugs from Canada.

Gov. Jim Doyle made the announcement while meeting with Minnesota's governor Thursday in La Crosse.

Wisconsin's Web site will be a lot like one in Minnesota, which offers links to drug order forms from state-inspected Canadian pharmacies.

"It creates competition. I've said often ... If citizens are going to Canada, maybe they won't have to go to Canada because maybe we're finally going to see some pressures on this market that will start driving it down, Doyle said.

Wisconsin and Minnesota have sent regulators to Canada to inspect various pharmacies.

While many agree it's a step in the right direction, it may not benefit all seniors. Seniors make up 13 percent of the U.S. population, but only 4 percent of the Internet population. That "gray gap" could scare some seniors away.

On the northeast side of Madison, Shirley Holland is hard at work, mostly to keep up with the rising cost of her nine prescription drugs.

"This last year it was $2800," Holland said. "I'm going to be retiring in a couple of months and I don't know what I'm going to run into."

Holland says she likes the idea of saving money on her prescriptions, but isn't sure that a Web site is necessarily the answer.

"For (access to a) Web site, you have to have a computer, and I will not have one," she said.

The Executive Director of the North/Eastside Senior Coalition, Cheryl Batterman, says that the opportunity to save a lot of money might be one reason to get wired.

"This is going to be something of a hot topic," said Batterman. "This is going to be something (the Coalition) will be very interested in."

Once the site launches, seniors will be able to stop by or call the Coalition, and volunteers will guide them through the process.

While the Web site may not be the ideal solution, groups like AARP say it's a starting point.

"There needs to be steps taken beyond (the Web site) to contain the cost of drugs, including re-importation from Canada," said Gail Sumi, Government Affairs representative for AARP.

Both Madison and Monona senior centers have computers with Internet access available and twice a month, Madison's center gives free lessons.

For more information on getting help with the new drug Web site, contact the North/Eastside Senior Coalition at (608) 243-5252.

Resources

Wisconsin Prescription Drug Resource Center
Minnesota RxConnect Online