by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | May 22, 2015 | Policy, Politics, Saving Money on Prescription Drugs
As you’ll discover below, the Obama administration’s policies to combat the manufacture and sale of counterfeit medications have a lot to do with furthering the agenda of the pharmaceutical industry in discouraging and curtailing online access by Americans to safe and affordable medication. Remember “The Deal” between the Obama administration and Big Pharma, in the form of the Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), in which the Obama administration agreed to abandon supporting drug importation legal reform to lower drug prices for Americans if PhRMA would support Obamacare? I’ve always wondered how far that deal went.
This week, in our continuing quest to get the truth out and for our elected leaders in Congress to take bold action to protect online access to safe and affordable medication, we’re publishing the next section of our report called Online Pharmacies, Personal Drug Importation, and Public Health…
(more…)
Tagged with: Congress, CSIP, GoodRx, intellectual, Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, IPEC, Obama Administration, rogue online pharmacies, safe online pharmacies, United States
by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | May 12, 2015 | Advocacy, Government, Online Pharmacies, Policy, Politics
Well, here we go again, another bill that would formally legalize a practice that has been going on for decades: Americans importing meds from Canadian pharmacies, at the very least to cut down on their drug bills, and in some cases even to afford life-saving medicines. Sorry to sound cynical, but I’ve seen these bills before and Big Pharma is always behind their failure – but what about this time?
The bill, H.R. 2228, was introduced by Representative Chellie Pingree (D-ME) barely a week ago and co-sponsored by Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), and is entitled “Safe and Affordable Drugs from Canada Act of 2015.” It seems to mirror legislation in the Senate, S. 122, introduced by Sens. John McCain (R-NV) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), which has the same title.
The bills are focused on Canadian pharmacies only, not the wider landscape of international online pharmacies, which are often based in Canada: ones that millions of Americans have benefited from for over a decade. If H.R. 2228 passes, the FDA would be required to publish a list of approved Canadian pharmacies from which Americans could legally import, for personal use, non-controlled, non-biologic, and non-temperature sensitive, prescription medications. That would include the majority of maintenance prescription drugs that Americans are currently importing for personal use.
I support this bill 100%. Even though our program is open to safe and licensed pharmacies in other countries, not just ones in Canada and the U.S., the new bill moves the public policy and economic justice needle in the right direction. The practice of international pharmacy began with Americans crossing the border to buy lower cost medications in Canada and then, with the advent of the Internet, buying through mail order. Current law, technically, bans the practice and, unjustly, views it as a criminal act – even though no one has been prosecuted for it. The new bill in the House and Senate would lift the unethical ban on buying lower cost medications for their own use from Canada. Amen and Word Up to that!
So head on over to RxRights.org to contact your elected representatives and let them know you want them to vote for the Safe and Affordable Drugs from Canada Act of 2015!
Tagged with: affordable prescriptions, Big Pharma, Canadian pharmacies, H.R. 2228, House of Representatives, legalizing personal drug importation, personal drug importation, RxRights.org, S.122, Safe and Affordable Drugs from Canada Act of 2015, Senate, United States
by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | May 6, 2015 | Drug Prices, Online Pharmacies
Sorry to sound macabre, but you could die if you don’t fill and adhere to your healthcare practitioner’s prescription for Xarelto (ravaroxaban). It is an anticoagulant, a medication that lowers the rate of blood clots and thereby lowers the risk of stroke. Especially if you were diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation, a condition characterized by problems associated with irregular heart rate or rhythm, it’s likely that you were prescribed an anticoagulant, such as Xarelto, Pradaxa, or Warfarin. I’m talking about Xarelto because it’s a relatively new brand name drug, which is not available as a generic, and some people who need it might not be able to afford it. It is not necessarily the best anticoagulant out there for you. Alternative medications are available and in use.
If you don’t have insurance or your insurance does not cover Xarelto, then you could face the out-of-pocket costs, which are about $1,176 for a three-month supply of the 20mg pill. If you can afford that then consider yourself lucky. For those who cannot, you could try a Xarelto patient assistance program. Alternatively, ask your doctor or other healthcare provider, and do your own research about another anti-coagulant, such as Pradaxa and Warfarin, that could work for you.
If you do not qualify for a patient assistance program, and your healthcare provider insists on Xarelto, there are verified international online pharmacies that sell brand name Xarelto at a very low price. In fact, the lowest cost international option runs you $2.08/pill, which is $187.20 for 90 tablets. That’s a savings of 84% or almost $1,000 over three months, $4,000 over the course of a year, versus the cash price at some U.S. pharmacies.
For those interested in where your medications come from: the Xarelto 20mg you buy in the U.S. is manufactured in Puerto Rico, according to the U.S. label. Our research shows that the lowest cost international option for Xarelto was manufactured in Germany by Bayer Pharma AG.
I started this post noting the mortality risks of not taking prescribed medications. I’d like to now return to this public health issue not in order to inflame or dramatize but to remind consumers and health officials about the public crisis of high drug prices. Strokes often cause death. Not taking your prescribed anticoagulant can increase your chance of having a stroke. Thirty-five million Americans don’t fill a prescription each year due to high prices; if Xarelto was one of these medicines, then its high price may have prevented people from obtaining it. Some of those people, unfortunately, may have had strokes and passed away. The point here is to not ignore your healthcare provider’s prescription and advice. Follow-up quickly and fill your prescription. If you can’t afford it, then pursue all available options.
Tagged with: Atrial Fibrillation, Bayer Pharmer AG, Drug Prices, patient assistance program, Pradaxa, Warfarin, Xarelto
