Each week I try and share something with our blog readers to shed further light on issues relating to online pharmacies, drug prices, drug importation and safety. Most of these efforts are dedicated toward advocating for Americans who can’t afford medications – and hammering home the truth that safe international online pharmacies are a lifeline of lower drug prices. These are policy, consumer and healthcare issues, but also political issues. I’ve come to know that Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Libertarians, and Democratic Socialists all agree that drug prices are out of control and the pharmaceutical industry has too much power.
The Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), also known as “Big Pharma,” have stopped running away from the reality of the drug price crisis. PhRMA points to research that shows that 69% of insured Americans who have cost-sharing of $250 or above abandon their prescriptions at the pharmacy. Imagine the cost barriers faced by the almost 30 million uninsured Americans!
Other research, from October 2018, showed that almost 50% of Americans don’t fill prescriptions because of cost. These numbers are actually much higher than ones I’ve closely analyzed and publicized through Prescription Justice, namely that 18% of Americans aged 19-64 did not fill a prescription in 2016. Adding young and older Americans to that statistic, about 45 million Americans didn’t fill a prescription because of prices in 2016. Much of that number crunching is based on survey research from the Commonwealth Fund.
If I had it my way, Americans would not need to buy medications online from foreign pharmacies to the extent they do. We will get there. Things will get better.
In the meantime, if you’re without health insurance, under-insured or otherwise simply unable to afford medicine at your local pharmacy, we at PharmacyChecker are honored to help. Through our Verification Program and drug price comparisons, we identify the safest international online pharmacies that help patients find much more affordable medication. In doing so, we help them get or stay healthy and, for some, continue living.
Happy New Year and Holidays from all of us at PharmacyChecker!
