AUGUSTA – The same Maine group that organized bus trips to Canada to help seniors buy medicine at half price has another way seniors can save, this time without leaving Maine: Buy prescriptions through the Pequot Indians, owners of Foxwoods casino in Connecticut.

Saying seniors can save up to 30 percent, the Maine Council of Senior Citizens held a press conference Tuesday inviting seniors and non-seniors to join the council. Those who do and pay the annual $10 membership fee then qualify for prescription drug discounts through the Pequot mail-order program, said council President John Carr.

A price list did show lower prices through the Pequot plan, but not substantial savings.

William Millar, a pharmacist with the Pequot Pharmaceutical Network, said the program was begun by the tribal council to help seniors afford medicine. Thorough steps are taken to ensure safety, Millar said, and pharmacists are available to answer consumer questions.

When asked which program would save consumers more, Maine Rx Plus or the Pequot Pharmaceutical Network, Carr advised consumers to check both plans.

“Make sure you shop around,” then buy whichever is the better deal, Carr said.

The state’s Maine Rx Plus gives deeper discounts for generic prescriptions, but brand-name could be better through the Pequot plan, said Maine Council Executive Director Neena Quirion. The council can be reached at 622-3151.

In a related matter, the council said it’s still waiting for the federal government to respond to its proposal to reimport cheaper drugs from Canada to Maine.

Last September the Penobscot Nation and the Maine Council of Senior Citizens announced it was asking U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson for permission to explore a pilot program of buying lower-cost medicine in Canada, building a large warehouse on Indian Island in Old Town for storage and distributing the prescriptions throughout Maine.

Some of the drugs are made in the United States but sold at lower prices in Canada because that country regulates how much drug companies can charge; the United States does not.

“We’re still waiting for a meeting with Tommy Thompson,” Quirion said.

When the tribes met earlier this winter with Health and Human Services Regional Director Brian Cresta, Cresta warned that there were problems in reimporting drugs, but he’d look into setting up a meeting, Quirion said. “That hasn’t happened yet.”

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