MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) – A key Senate committee approved a plan late Friday that would authorize importing low-cost drugs from Canada and Europe, quickly endorsing a top item on the Democratic agenda.

The Finance Committee voted unanimously in favor of Vermont becoming part of a four-state initiative known as ISaveRx, led by Illinois, which helps people who don’t have insurance buy cheaper prescriptions through the Internet or a toll-free telephone line.

The House Health Care Committee is working on a companion bill and could forward its version to the full House sometime next week, said Chairman John Tracy, D-Burlington.

Few in the Statehouse thought the program would help many people buy drugs affordably.

The Illinois program only serves around 2,500 people now and there probably won’t be many in Vermont who sign up, officials from that state said when they testified last week.

But advocates argue that the program can be a lifesaver for those who do qualify. It is targeted at people with chronic illnesses – such as diabetes or heart disease – who need what are known as maintenance drugs.

Sen. Mark Shepard, R-Bennington, urged his colleagues to state in the bill itself that the bill was just a stopgap way to help people pay for prescriptions.

“I don’t want to give the impression we’re giving a long-term solution here because we’re not,” he said.

Finance Committee Chairwoman Ann Cummings, D-Washington, agreed and inserted language into the bill making it clear.

“We understand this is not the final solution, but it will provide in the short run an option of an alternate system of interim relief,” she said.

Tracy said his committee was looking into ways of promoting the program if it is enacted by the Legislature and signed by the governor. There are programs through community action agencies, United Way and other organizations that could help boost such efforts, he said.

“How do we reach out to Vermonters to let them know it’s there and how to use it?” he asked. “We’re looking into that.”