PharmacyChecker Blog

Helping Americans Get The Truth About Prescription Drug Savings
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RxRights.org – Giving a Voice to Americans Struggling to Afford Prescription Medication

We’re proud to announce our support for RxRights (www.RxRights.org), a non-profit group dedicated to protecting access to safe and affordable personal drug importation through verified online pharmacies.  PharmacyChecker.com is a coalition member of RxRights.org, which harnesses the non-profit community and American consumers in a shared effort to stand up and demand that our leaders listen to the American people instead of playing to the dictates of the pharmaceutical industry.

Go to RxRights.org advocacy campaign page, to send a message to your elected representatives.  Tell them that the U.S. government should not take actions that could block access to safe and affordable medication.

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Americans Urged to Take Action to Stop White House from Blocking Access to Low Cost Medicine from Pharmacies Abroad

For the past decade, millions of Americans have safely purchased low-priced medications from Canadian and other non-U.S. online pharmacies. Now it appears that the White House Office of the Intellectual Property Rights seeks to shutdown such online pharmacies because they are not on a “White List” being created by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), an organization that misleadingly categorizes all non-U.S. online pharmacies that sell to Americans as “rogue.” Already, 25 million Americans do not take their medication due to cost. With less access to affordable medication, fewer Americans will take the medications they need.

We urge you to write to President Obama and your congressional representatives, and demand that actions are not taken against online pharmacies that safely provide affordable medication.

For more news on this advocacy initiative, click here.

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Drug Importation Bill Introduced by Senator Olympia Snowe

Last May, we reported that AARP honored Senator Olympia Snowe (R- Maine) for her ongoing advocacy of policies and initiatives that seek to improve the lives of Americans age 50-plus. The award specifically mentioned her efforts to make safe drug importation legal and more available to help more Americans afford their medication. In our post on this recognition, we predicted that the issue of access to safe drugs would persist in the aftermath of the new healthcare legislation, and we’re now happy to announce that last week Senator Snowe put legalizing drug importation back on the Senate’s agenda.

Senator Snowe has introduced legislation that would amend the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic act to facilitate drug importation that would effectively lower prescription drug prices. Additionally, the bill would increase U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspections of international manufacturing plants. S. 319, the proposed Pharmaceutical Market Access and Drug Safety Act of 2011, is similar to Senator Snowe’s co-sponsored bill from 2009, also known as the Dorgan Amendment. For more information on the Senator’s past support for personal drug importation, see our post Canadian Pharmacies and Personal Drug Importation Play Critical Role in Greater Healthcare Benefits for Americans. (more…)

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Obama Interview Shows Americans Highly Concerned About Drug Prices; Drug Importation Mentioned as Potential Solution

Last week, YouTube hosted a question and answer session at the White House with President Barack Obama. Americans across the country submitted over 140,000 questions to YouTube, and over a million people voted on which of those questions moderator Steve Grove should ask the president. We were not surprised to find out that the top healthcare question related to none other than prescription drug prices and importation:

Why [does] the same medication that I use cost so much less in Mexico or Canada even though it is being made here in the United States? (Noah, 00:29:03)

Obama’s answer was upfront and honest, and frankly, we liked what he had to say. The president said, “Canada and Mexico are bulk purchasers of those drugs, so they negotiate much cheaper drug prices with the drug companies. We still don’t do that, and I actually think it’s something we should do – it would save us money.” We were also pleased to hear him reopening communication about drug importation. “It may be that importation is still something we should look at in terms of further lowering the price of drugs,” the president said. (more…)

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State of The Union For Prescription Drug Prices Not So Strong

In the State of the Union speech last night, President Obama highlighted prescription savings benefits in his otherwise brief coverage of new healthcare reform. As we’ve previously reported, and President Obama was clear to state, those prescription savings will go mostly to our nation’s seniors who are enrolled in Medicare. Beginning last September, many of America’s seniors received $250 rebate checks for prescription drug costs, a small step toward affordable healthcare. Better yet, starting this year, the coverage gap will narrow, with enrollees receiving a 50% discount on brand name drugs, and by 2020, a 75% discount. While the “doughnut hole” will not fully be closed, the savings will mean that far fewer Medicare enrollees will face exorbitant brand name drug prices out of pocket. (more…)

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WHO Statistic on Online Counterfeit Drugs Often Misused

In speeches and writings about online pharmacies, many experts and professionals in the pharmaceutical and U.S. pharmacy industries cite data from the World Health Organization (WHO) claiming that 50% of drugs sold on the Internet are counterfeit. A recent example is an article published last week in US Pharmacist.  This statistic is often offered as “evidence” that all online pharmacies, particularly outside the U.S., are dangerous.  However, the WHO’s information is often misused and the statistic’s factual basis is questionable.

The actual WHO statistic is that in “50% of cases, medicines purchased over the Internet from illegal sites that conceal their physical address have been found to be counterfeit.” WHO goes onto qualify this statement, noting that “Some Internet pharmacies are legal operations, established to offer clients convenience and savings. They deliver medications from government-licensed facilities and sell only on the basis of a prescription.” This is a critical point which we have made many times on this blog, but is commonly omitted by those whose work is backed by the pharmaceutical and U.S. pharmacy industries. (more…)

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