by PharmacyChecker.com | Nov 21, 2013 | Drug Prices, Politics
The answer is yes. Out of eleven developed countries, America is #1 when it comes to high drug prices preventing people from taking needed medications, according to a new international survey conducted by the Commonwealth Fund and reported on in Health Affairs. Twenty-one percent of American adults – over 50 million people – skipped medication due to cost, more than double the 9% who did so in Germany, the second highest rate. In the United Kingdom, only two percent of adults reported skipping medication due to drug costs.
The disturbing number of Americans forgoing prescriptions is not solely due to our large uninsured population. In fact, the Commonwealth Fund data shows that 15% of insured Americans skipped prescription medication due to costs, often because of high plan deductibles, co-payments, or co-insurance, supporting our recent analysis that those who will become insured under Obamacare may, too, find drug costs out of reach and seek affordable medication internationally. Hopefully, reforms under Obamacare, such as requiring plans to cover at least one drug in each “class” of drug and the eventual cap on out-of-pocket spending, will help Americans more easily afford their medication.
The data also shows the extent to which high drug prices affect patients with chronic conditions; skipping meds prescribed for chronic conditions, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and asthma, can lead to hospitalizations, emergency room visits, or even death. Twenty-nine percent of Americans with chronic medical conditions skipped their meds due to costs, more than double the 14% of Australians, who had the second highest rate. Only 1% of patients in the U.K. with chronic conditions skipped medication because of prices. Our conclusion? America can do better.
Tagged with: Commonwealth Fund, Health Affairs, Obamacare
by PharmacyChecker.com | Nov 13, 2013 | Drug Prices, Online Pharmacies, Personal Drug Importation
For 15 weeks, we tracked prices among U.S. and foreign pharmacies on popular drugs manufactured in in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico). Our analysis found that these medications were an average 76% less expensive from the lowest-cost PharmacyChecker.com-approved international pharmacy than a local U.S. pharmacy in New York City. Even when medications were available as generics, such as Singluair and Urocit-K, the prices for the brand name abroad were cheaper than the generic in the U.S.
Just for the record, prescription drugs manufactured under government regulation in many other countries are just as safe as those made here. Critics of international online pharmacies (mostly people connected to drug companies or big chain pharmacy interests) often mention poor foreign manufacturing practices, especially for generic drugs, outside the U.S. to scare Americans from ordering medication internationally. But so many FDA-approved drugs currently sold in U.S. pharmacies are imported – 40% according to the FDA – and many are generics. As our vice president Gabriel Levitt said, “We looked only at brand name medications manufactured in the U.S., not because they’re any safer than those made elsewhere, but because we found it so compelling that the same drugs made here are about 76% less expensive abroad.”
For more information, read our recent press release.
Average Savings Buying from an International Online Pharmacy for Brand Name Medications Manufactured in America*
| Drug |
Local U.S. Pharmacy Price |
Lowest International PharmacyChecker.com Listed Price |
Percent Savings |
| Acuvail 0.45% – 30 vials+ |
$249 |
$65 |
74% |
| Cardura XL 4 mg – 90 pills |
$285 |
$67 |
76% |
| Crestor 40 mg – 90 pills+ |
$680 |
$140 |
79% |
| Cymbalta 60 mg – 90 pills+ |
$879 |
$116 |
87% |
| Invega 6 mg – 90 pills |
$1,932 |
$580 |
70% |
| Janumet 50/500 mg – 180 pills+ |
$1,050 |
$172 |
84% |
| Lotemax 0.5% – 5 ml |
$188 |
$30 |
84% |
| Lumigan 0.03% – 2.5 ml |
$114 |
$22 |
81% |
| Pataday 0.2% – 2.5 ml |
$161 |
$34 |
79% |
| Pulmicort 0.25 mg/2ml – 60 respules |
$698 |
$117 |
83% |
| Restasis 0.05% – 60 Vials |
$394 |
$116 |
71% |
| Singulair Granules 4 mg – 90 pills+ |
$732 |
$176 |
76% |
| Strattera 25 mg – 90 caps+ |
$828 |
$311 |
63% |
| Tarceva 100 mg – 30 pills |
$6,531 |
$1,949 |
70% |
| Urocit-K 10 meq – 90 pills++ |
$146 |
$57 |
61% |
| Average Savings |
|
|
76% |
* Includes manufacturing in Puerto Rico, Local U.S. Pharmacy Prices found at a New York City Rite-Aid
+price calculated from 84 pills.
++price calculated from 100 pills.
Tagged with: American Made Prescriptions Are Cheaper Abroad
by PharmacyChecker.com | Nov 8, 2013 | Medicare Drug Plans
We’ve been writing about upcoming changes in Medicare Part D on this blog for the past few weeks. Last week, we pointed out some significant changes to deductibles and premiums but those aren’t the only cost-related changes you have to worry about. Your current plan’s co-payment (flat fee) or co-insurance (percentage fee) may also change in 2014, greatly impacting your wallet unless you change your plan.
Medicare Part D plans often categorize drugs by “tier,” and all drugs within a tier have the same cost-sharing. Today, we’re going to focus on upcoming changes to cost-sharing within a tier.
One notable change is to Aetna Medicare Rx Premier’s preferred brand co-pay when purchasing meds from in-network pharmacies. For many states, the plans’ 2013 co-pay was $99 for a 90-day supply of medication. But in 2014, Aetna’s co-pay in this tier will be replaced with co-insurance to the tune of 25% of a drug’s cost, which can mean much higher costs for you. For instance, the cholesterol drug Crestor, which was in this tier in 2013, costs around $600 for a 90-day supply. In 2014, that could cost somebody with this plan $150, instead of just $99, a 50% increase!
Other plans have simpler changes, and some are even good, like those to First Health Part D Essentials. This plan is available in many states, but we’ll specifically look at the plan’s changes in Connecticut. The co-insurance for using the plan’s mail order pharmacy for preferred brand-name drugs drops 40%, from 25% to 15%. This is great if you’re buying a preferred brand name drug. But in order to make up for the savings on preferred meds, the co-insurance for non-preferred brands rises slightly, from 42% to 44%. Although the difference is only 2% of the drug’s cost, it can add up quickly when applied to multiple medications.
To make things even more complicated, a plan’s changes can vary from state to state. The First Health Part D plan mentioned above actually has a lower non-preferred brand co-insurance in a few states. In Illinois, the co-insurance drops from 50% to 47%.
These few examples of cost-sharing changes to Part D plans show you the importance of doing your research. Your plan may have specific changes not mentioned here, but the only way to find out is to look at its details for 2014. If you are thinking about checking out new plans, head over to MedicareDrugPlans.com, where you can read reviews and see ratings left by plan members.
Tagged with: Crestor
