by Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com and Sam Werbalowsky, Pharmacychecker.com | May 2, 2014 | Drug Prices
If you’ve never heard of a non-profit pharmacy, that’s ok – there are only three of them in the country. Non-profit pharmacies can charge lower prices because they don’t have to realize profits for shareholders or owners.
One such pharmacy, Community First Pharmacy, located in Hamilton, OH, has recently been praised for putting its customers ahead of profits. According to coverage in Daily Dayton News, one of the biggest hurdles is getting customers in the door, as many folks are under the wrong impression that the pharmacy only serves the uninsured or under-insured. That is not the case – Community First Pharmacy maintains two separate inventories, one for private-pay patients and one for uninsured and underinsured patients who need assistance with medication payment. The pharmacy also receives steeply discounted drugs by participating in the 340b program, a federal program open to non-profit healthcare organizations.
Overall, this system allows the pharmacy to profit from privately insured customers while offering low prices to those who could not otherwise afford their medicine. For instance, the pharmacy can match the popular $4/month plans found at retailers like Target or Walmart, or even offer a lower price, without having to make up the lost profit by marking up other drugs. One patient only paid $1.20 to get his prescription filled!
I couldn’t find much information on the other two non-profit pharmacies in the country. Pharmacy Over the Rhine, located in Cincinnati, OH, serves local residents who often found it difficult get to actually get to a pharmacy, due to transportation or work issues. Like Community First, Pharmacy Over the Rhine serves anyone and is able to put profits on some medications toward lower costs for Americans who are struggling with their prescription bills.
I’m glad that these pharmacies are offering low-cost medication to those who need it most, and, in the case of Pharmacy Over the Rhine, providing accessibility to those who need it. Local pharmacies are struggling to stay afloat these days, and perhaps the non-profit model will be the wave of the future that lets them compete and serve their communities.
by Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com and Sam Werbalowsky, Pharmacychecker.com | Apr 18, 2014 | Drug Prices
The International Federation of Health Plans released data yesterday that compares the costs of healthcare around the world. Thankfully, The Huffington Post and Vox.com chose to cover this. While the Huffington Post article merely adds more proof that America has high drug prices, the Vox article points out something that we’ve been talking about for a long time: the U.S. pays more for the same exact products found in other countries. Sarah Kliff writes, “There’s nothing different about the Nexium that we buy in the United States and the pill that the Dutch buy – except that, in the United States, we’re terrible at negotiating a good deal on pretty much any medical service.”
Interestingly, there is sometimes a difference in various countries’ versions of Nexium: it is often sold as a tablet in Europe compared to a capsule in the U.S. Both products are made by drug giant AstraZeneca. There are many instances where the exact same drug, made in the United States, is astronomically more expensive domestically than internationally. To show you, just hop on the time machine to our series Made in America; Cheaper Abroad.
Tagged with: American Made Prescriptions Are Cheaper Abroad, Huffington Post, Nexium, Vox.com
by Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com and Sam Werbalowsky, Pharmacychecker.com | Mar 28, 2014 | Personal Drug Importation, Politics
A couple of news articles from the state of Maine have me wondering if more Mainers are going to start importing medication from international online pharmacies. Maine is the only state that has, through the passage of a law, removed state restrictions on personal drug importation from pharmacies in a number of countries.
An article from the Sun Journal highlights a survey designed to track the impact of the Affordable Care Act in Maine (and perhaps these findings will apply to other states, too). Both low and middle-income Maine adults are struggling with medical bills. Surprisingly, 35% of middle-income adults had problems paying bills, compared to 32% of low-income adults. Budget cuts in the state have led to thousands of residents losing Medicaid coverage, so it is likely that the numbers will worsen for low-income adults.
Speaking of budget cuts, Maine Governor Paul LePage did not choose to expand another state program, Mainecare, which helps low-income residents pay healthcare providers. Samantha Edwards, writing for WLBZ, notes that residents who were in these programs are now looking elsewhere for assistance, especially for prescription drugs. The cuts to state programs are forcing municipalities to cover the costs. Rindy Folger, of Bangor Health and Community Services, said, “Since January 1st, we have seen over seventy-five people who we have never seen before who are now coming in looking for help with their medications…Monthly right now we are paying about $9,500 in prescriptions which, over the course of the year, is a significant amount of money for the Bangor taxpayers to have to pay.”
If municipalities like Bangor are going to be picking up the tab for medication, it might be wise for them (or the state) to implement prescription drug importation programs. Portland saved $200,000 a year on health care when it served prescriptions to its employees through PortlandMeds, a prescription drug importation program. It’s very possible – and reasonable – that more municipalities will implement these programs if the Maine’s healthcare cuts continue.
Tagged with: Maine, Obamacare, PortlandMeds
