by Lucia Mueller, President, PharmacyChecker.com | Jan 11, 2019 | Drug Importation
It’s no secret Americans are struggling to afford their medications. A quick skim of crowdfunding websites, such as GoFundMe.com and Fundly.com, sets the grim scene of rising prescription drug costs in the United States. As a result, many Americans are ordering from online pharmacies located in other countries that offer the price relief folks can rarely swing here at home without the aid of insurance or strategic use of discount coupons.
A 2019 survey conducted by the Campaign for Personal Prescription Importation shows that cost is the top reason more and more Americans are ordering their prescriptions from online pharmacies in Canada. 94% of Americans cite high drug prices in the U.S. as reason for ordering from abroad.
(more…)Tagged with: campaign for personal prescription importation, Go Fund Me, Medicare, survey
by Lucia Mueller, President, PharmacyChecker.com | Sep 14, 2018 | Prescription Savings
PharmacyChecker president and co-founder, Gabriel Levitt, spoke at the New York Retirees Association of District Council 37 September 2018 meeting about the prescription drug price crisis in America. Retirees learned about the politics and policy of high drug prices and how to fight back against Big Pharma. He also covered how older Americans can get help when they can’t afford medications.
As drug prices at local U.S. pharmacies, especially for generics, vary greatly, the first recommendation is to make sure you’re getting the lowest prices locally. There are discount cards, patient assistance programs, drug company co-pay coupons, state programs, and extra help from the federal government for low-income Medicare enrollees.
There is also the lifeline of personal drug importation from safe international online pharmacies, of which older Americans should take advantage when they can’t afford a medication here in the U.S. Gabe explained that it’s technically prohibited under federal law, although no one is prosecuted for doing so.
With around 200-300 members in attendance, the members didn’t hold back in expressing shock at the numbers surrounding the current state of drug prices in the United States vs. the rest of the world. Commonly prescribed drugs that many uninsured or under-insured Americans can’t afford are sold for much less in Canada and other countries. According to Kaiser Health News, eighty percent of Americans believe the prices of prescription medications are unreasonable.
(more…)
Tagged with: DC37, NYC, Retirees
by Lucia Mueller, President, PharmacyChecker.com | Jun 8, 2018 | Drug Safety
Costs of products that improve women’s sex lives by treating a dry vagina, a taboo yet common condition, are on the rise here in the U.S. It’s bad enough to face the unfair stigma of needing medication that has anything to do with your vagina, but Big Pharma has decided to make that experience even more difficult. American women deserve to know that those much-needed products are sold at international online pharmacies for a fraction of the price tag at their local pharmacy.
The New York Times’ Katie Thomas recently published an article, Prices Keep Rising for Drugs Treating Painful Sex in Women, that highlighted this quiet conversation in the corner of the drug prices crisis. Your EpiPens and asthma inhalers are perhaps easier to gripe loudly about than meds related to personal matters. “It’s just infuriating that the price has gone up and up and up for no good reason,” said Cynthia Pearson, the executive director of the National Women’s Health Network, who expressed frustration at the lack of attention due to the stigma.
Women have seen prices on drugs, such as Estrace cream and Estring, more than double in the last five years. The article goes on to report that one woman “has resorted to ordering her drug from overseas at a cost of about $80 for a three-month supply,” which is great news for that savvy lady, but unfortunately leaves the reader hanging on how to safely order their own medication from abroad. After all, shopping for medications online can be quite treacherous: the internet is a landmine of scammers and sellers of counterfeit medication. Peer-reviewed and independent research demonstrates that when consumers use PharmacyChecker-verified pharmacies to buy medications purchased online, they receive lawfully-manufactured, high-quality medication. Not to mention those meds are typically sold at a much lower price than available at local U.S. pharmacies.
Vagifem sold in the U.S., mentioned in the article, is actually manufactured in Denmark. At U.S. pharmacies, just 8 tablets of Vagifem 10 mcg can cost women around $200, but it’s sold at international online pharmacies for as low as $20, a 90% savings. Premarin Vaginal Cream is a whopping 98% cheaper if women order through an online pharmacy in the United Kingdom that’s been verified by PharmacyChecker. Premarin sold in the U.S. is manufactured in Canada.
Vagina may be a stigmatized word, but saving money on meds? Now, that’s something to shout about.
Tagged with: dry vagina, estrace, estradiol
