by Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com and Sam Werbalowsky, Pharmacychecker.com | Oct 10, 2013 | Drug Importation, Online Pharmacy Verification Services, Rogue Online Pharmacies
The dangers of “rogue” international online pharmacies that sell fake or substandard medication go beyond just those affecting your health. Rogues are also known for playing loose with your personal information, including fraudulently charging your credit card or even selling the information to other scammers.
The DEA has issued a press release warning about criminals impersonating DEA special agents in an attempt to extort Americans who may have purchased medication from disreputable websites. The scammers, posing as DEA agents, call consumers and inform them that they have committed a crime in their online or telephone purchase of pharmaceuticals, sometimes citing illegal drug importation. The scammer then insists that the consumer pay a “fine” or face criminal prosecution. The reality is that DEA agents will never personally call a person to demand any form of payment. If you receive one of these bogus calls just refuse their demand and report the rogue activity to the DEA.
Keep in mind that the DEA is primarily concerned with controlled substances, such as Ambien and Oxycontin. Any penalties for ordering non-controlled medication would be served by the FDA and the FDA has never prosecuted or fined an individual for personally importing medications.
This scam is nothing new, and is a reminder that Americans looking to purchase medication from international online pharmacies should be aware of the difference between a potentially dangerous pharmacy and a legitimate one. You can view information on how to identify a fake online pharmacy here. Also, keep in mind that reputable international online pharmacies do not sell controlled drugs to Americans.
If you’re looking for a safe, international online pharmacy, one that will only sell you genuine medication and protract your personal and financial information, then stick to PharmacyChecker.com-verified sites. You can view a list of some verified pharmacies on our website.
Tagged with: DEA, online pharmacy telephone scam, rogue online pharmacies
by Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com and Sam Werbalowsky, Pharmacychecker.com | Oct 2, 2013 | Drug Importation, Healthcare Reform, Online Pharmacies, Politics
This past Monday, we reported that average savings from international online pharmacies are now 87% on popular brand name meds, up from 85% a year ago. As Americans gain access to health insurance through state exchanges under Obamacare, which kicked off yesterday, will there still be a need for the international online pharmacy option?
Yes.
It may come as a surprise, but international online pharmacies benefit people with insurance, not just the uninsured. If a plan does not cover a drug, or has a high deductible or co-pay, ordering from abroad may help those on that particular plan. Fortunately, new health plans will help millions of Americans afford needed medication at neighborhood pharmacies, but some will continue to fall through the cracks.
Twenty-one percent of Americans with prescription benefits skipped filling a prescription in 2012 because of high prices, according to the Commonwealth Fund. Therefore, unless drug prices unexpectedly come down in America, we can predict that millions of Americans will still struggle with high drug prices in the U.S., and that many of them will seek relief from international online pharmacies.
There are other reasons that Americans can’t count on Obamacare to improve their access to affordable medication, especially in 2014. Due to a delay in implementing Obamacare’s spending cap of $6,350 a year, insurance plans that use more than one benefits administrator will not be subject to the cap next year. Instead, they will apply the cap to each benefit separately. Thus, Americans choosing an insurance plan that works with an independent pharmacy benefit manager may see one cap for doctor and hospital visits of $6,350 and another cap of $6,350 for medication! See our blog post “Obamacare Out-of-Pocket Cost Delays A Bad Prescription for Consumers” for more information on this topic.
Last but not least, the new plans may leave you with huge out-of-pocket drug costs if you take expensive medications. A report in the New York Times shows that plans in some states will require patients to pay as much as 50% of a drug’s cost. Depending on the medication, 50% of a drug’s price can be prohibitive for many Americans. The Times article mentions the drug Tecfidera, which costs $4,000 a month; many Americans will struggle to make the initial payments of $2,000 or more before their out-of-pocket limit is reached.
We believe that over time Obamacare will succeed in helping millions of Americans afford medical care, including prescription medication. But the road ahead is a long one and we can’t let tens of millions continue to go without medication in the years to come. Fortunately, the lifeline of safe personal drug importation through verified international online pharmacies is available. If you choose to order from abroad, make sure you only order form a credentialed, verified pharmacy, such as those listed on PharmacyChecker.com.
We will continue to monitor and report on how Obamacare affects drug prices and access by Americans to prescription medication.
Tagged with: Commonwealth Fund, New York Times, Obamacare, out-of-pocket costs
by Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com and Sam Werbalowsky, Pharmacychecker.com | Aug 22, 2013 | Advocacy, Drug Prices, Healthcare Reform
Americans with high out-of-pocket healthcare costs will be disappointed with a new Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) delay announced by the Obama administration. The delay allows insurers and employers using more than one benefits administrator to wait one extra year – until 2015 – before being required to limit out-of-pocket costs to a maximum of $6,350 for an individual or $12,700 for a family, as mandated by the law. Instead, they will be permitted to maintain separate out-of-pocket limits for various benefits. For example, a patient may have a $6,350 cap for doctor visits and another $6,350 cap for prescription drugs.
Except that there may actually be no cap at all for prescription drug plans. Plans currently without out-of-pocket caps will not be subject to mandatory ones in 2014.
The only reason for the delay mentioned in a recent New York Times article is a technological problem. Many companies use different administrators for different benefits, and their computer systems are currently unable to combine all costs from different programs for a given patient. As the New York Times says, “In many cases, the companies have separate computer systems that cannot communicate with one another.” Companies need more time to upgrade their software to accommodate this.
Obamacare was passed in 2010, and the mandatory out-of-pocket limits were slated to go into effect in 2014, giving companies four years to figure out how to get their computers to talk to each other.
This does not seem like a legitimate reason to delay prescription drug spending caps. Fifty million adults did not fill a prescription last year due to cost; access to affordable medicine is a big problem in the United States, and failure to implement out-of-pocket spending limits will likely keep prescriptions unfilled.
Fortunately, safe international pharmacies offer low prices to Americans. As of last November, prices for brand name medication were 85% less expensive from them when compared to U.S. pharmacies. If you choose to order medication from abroad, make sure the pharmacy is a PharmacyChecker.com verified online pharmacy.
