by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | Dec 14, 2010 | Drug Importation, Drug Prices, Online Pharmacies, Personal Drug Importation
As too many Americans skip taking their medication due to cost, the issue of drug affordability is of critical importance to public health. It is also one that politicians ignore or wrongly address to their peril. Urging Republican lawmakers not to ignore Americans who are struggling with high drug prices, Roger Bate of the American Enterprise Institute recommended a nuanced, free-market approach to the problem of high drug prices. In an article published yesterday by AEI, Mr. Bate called for the decriminalization of personal drug importation and the continued statutory ban on wholesale drug importation. By doing so, more Americans who are disadvantaged by high drug prices can find relief through safe and affordable international online pharmacies, while not undermining pharmaceutical research and development in the United States, which, he argues, relies on the maintenance of our wholesale drug importation laws.
Underscoring Mr. Bate’s position was his recognition, based on his own empirical research, that Americans who purchase brand name prescription drugs from non-U.S. pharmacies could do so with confidence by consulting the approved list of online pharmacies found on PharmacyChecker.com.
Tagged with: AEI, American Enterprise Institute, decriminalization, Online Pharmacies, personal drug importation, republicans, Roger Bate
by Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com and Margaret Rode, PharmacyChecker.com | Dec 13, 2010 | Drug Prices, Online Pharmacies
The Obama administration is taking actions to address the illegal sale of counterfeit prescription drugs online. These efforts can benefit patients who could fall victim to rogue online pharmacies, but may also limit access to safe and affordable medication provided by non-U.S. international online pharmacies, many based in Canada. Millions of uninsured and under-insured Americans have purchased prescription drugs through, and relied on, such websites to afford medicine.
Last Monday, the White House Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC), Victoria Espinel, stated that her office was in discussions with Google, Go Daddy, American Express, and Microsoft about cracking down on online pharmacies, and that an announcement about IPEC’s plans moving forward will be made within weeks. This statement seems to be a follow-up to a late-September meeting held by IPEC, which brought together domain registrars and registries to discuss voluntary protocols to combat the sale of non-controlled counterfeit medication online. As we reported, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) notably declined its invitation to attend this meeting, and at least one of its attendees, Go Daddy general counsel Christine Jones, as reported on Domain Incite, communicated that intellectual property protection was not discussed and voluntary protocols were not agreed to. Jones also shared her understanding that an “FDA solution” might be used to combat counterfeit drugs being sold online. Espinel’s statement last week suggests the same. (more…)
Tagged with: Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies, American Express, drugs from canada, FDA, GoDaddy, Google, I-Save RX, ICANN, intellectual property rights, Interpol, IPEC, Joseph Biden, Katheleen Sebelius, Margaret Hamburg, Microsoft, Obama Administration, Online Pharmacies, Pfizer, public health, Public Library of Science One, Rahm Immanuel, rogue pharmacies, under-insured, uninsured, United States
by PharmacyChecker.com | Dec 3, 2010 | Drug Prices, Medicare Drug Plans, Saving Money on Prescription Drugs
Just in time for the 2011 open enrollment period, UnitedHealth Group Inc. has announced that it will allow its AARP MedicareRx and AARP MedicareComplete Medicare Advantage prescription drug plan participants to purchase 30-day supplies of many generic drugs from Kroger and Safeway chain stores for just $2; 90-day supplies may cost just $4. Between these two pharmacy groups, 397 generic drugs are covered in the program, and both chain stores offer the program via mail-order pharmacy (Prescription Solutions) as well.
Simvastatin, the generic for Zocor – a cholesterol lowering drug, and Metoprolol succinate, the generic of the high blood pressure drug Toprol, are just two of many $2 drugs found on the monthly supply list. You can find a 90-day supply of Ibuprofren 400 – 800mg for just $5. To see which other generics are listed, visit the Pharmacy Saver information and search page. (more…)
Tagged with: AARP, generics, Kroger, Medicare Drug Plans, Online Pharmacies, Part D, Safeway, seniors, United States, UnitedHealth, Wal-Mart
by Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com and Margaret Rode, PharmacyChecker.com | Oct 22, 2010 | Drug Prices
We often report about policies affecting access to safe and affordable medication through personal drug importation, and advocate for laws that help American patients – not corporate profits. Like safe personal drug importation, faster access to generic drugs right here at home would make prescription drugs more affordable for uninsured and under-insured Americans. Unfortunately, last month the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals made a decision that adversely affects consumers but benefits pharmaceutical manufactures of both brand and generic drugs. The court decided to decline a review of the “pay-to-delay” ruling of Arkansas Carpenters Health and Welfare Fund v. Bayer AG means that, once again, pharmaceutical profits are protected at the expense of greater consumer access to affordable medication.
The decision declares that Bayer, the manufacturer of Cipro, an anti-infection drug, is lawful in paying Barr Laboratories, a large generic drug manufacturing company, $400 million to not challenge Bayer’s patent, which protects the high price now charged for Cipro. When generic drug manufacturers successfully challenge the validity of a patent, they are able to more quickly manufacture and sell low-cost versions of the drugs. Settlements that prevent such patent challenges cost consumers $3.5 billion a year, according to Federal Trade Commissioner Jon Leibowitz.
The 2nd Court’s decision was based on that same court’s earlier ruling of In re Tamoxifen Citrate Antitrust Litigation, 466, F. 3d 187 (2006), which found pay-offs to generic drug companies do not violate anti-trust law. There have been 53 similar pharmaceutical patent settlements, resulting in a variety of drugs with prices out of reach for many American patients.
Such rulings indicate that American patients can only win if the issue is decided differently by the Supreme Court or, and more likely, Congress changes the law.
Senator Herb Kohl is one congressman looking to make this happen. Senator Kohl introduced the Preserve Access to Affordable Generic Drugs Act (S. 369), legislation, which is still pending, to combat the practice of pay-off agreements between pharmaceutical companies and reduce the number of pay-for-delay settlements that keep generic drugs off the market. This legislation would be a big step in protecting consumer’s interests and health costs, and we hope for its success.
Tagged with: affordable prescriptions, Barr Laboritories, Bayer, brand name drugs, Cipro, Drug Prices, generics, health, pay-to-delay, pharmaceutical companies, pharmaceuticals, phrma, Senator Herb Kohl, Tamoxifen, United States
by PharmacyChecker.com | Oct 11, 2010 | Drug Prices, Healthcare Reform, Medicare Drug Plans
With open enrollment for Medicare Part D just around the corner, 50% discounts on brand name prescriptions while in the coverage gap seems to be a great new benefit this coming year… or is it? Some patient advocate groups, and we at PharmacyChecker.com, are asking, 50% off what price? Will PhRMA offer the discount on a higher-than-normal base price to cover their losses?
As the market, not the government, controls drug prices, it is a possibility that manufacturers will up the prices on drugs, especially specialty medications that lack brand-name alternative or generic competition, in order to make up for the lost profit. A brand name drug that costs $100 per month now – $50 in 2011 for Medicare Part D enrollees – may likely cost $120 next year – or $60 for Medicare enrollees – so that the manufacturers are able to spare revenue loss little by little. (more…)
Tagged with: affordable prescriptions, Drug Prices, health, Healthcare Reform, Medicare, Medicare Drug Plans, Part D, phrma, save money, seniors, United States
by Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com and Margaret Rode, PharmacyChecker.com | Aug 27, 2010 | Drug Prices
AARP, the leading advocacy group for America’s seniors, released a new study confirming that brand name drug prices were way up – 8.3 % higher on average – in 2009. These large increases occurred during a year when the consumer price index was actually down by .4% . The report also finds that over the past five years, brand-name drug costs have increased by 41.5%, during which inflation only rose by 13%. Noteworthy in this report is that its authors, responding to pharmaceutical industry critics who contested that prior AARP reports only looked at manufacturer prices, derived the current findings by calculating the average retail prices of over 200 popular brand name drugs.
(more…)
Tagged with: AARP, Drug Prices, health, pharmacychecker.com, phrma
