by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | Apr 5, 2011 | Advocacy, Online Pharmacies, Personal Drug Importation
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.
Tagged with: Advocacy, Americans, Canada, Congress, drugs from canada, intellectual property rights, international pharmacies, NABP, pharmacies, President Ob, rogue, safe medicine, skip medication, United States, White House
by PharmacyChecker.com | Apr 1, 2011 | Drug Prices
This week in China, the National Development and Reform Commission put dramatic retail drug price cuts into effect. To lower prices, hospitals and clinics are now required to cap the costs for over 1,200 antibiotics and circulatory system drugs, according to Reuters. The 21% average decrease means $1.53 billion savings for Chinese patients – which is good news for them, but what does this mean for Americans?
While many of our drugs or drug ingredients are already manufactured in China, these price cuts won’t reduce the price of those drugs sold in the U.S. What could happen is the opposite. Lower prices in China may further drive increases in U.S. drug prices as drug companies look to the U.S. market to make up for lower margins in China. The U.S. is the only large market in which drug companies can arbitrarily increase their prices. (more…)
Tagged with: China, consumer guide, drug cuts, Drug Prices, healthcare, How to Save Money on Prescription Drugs, National Development and Reform Commission, price controls, retail, United States
by PharmacyChecker.com | Mar 24, 2011 | Saving Money on Prescription Drugs
We are proud to announce a second free edition of a special report written for the American consumer, entitled How To Save Money on Prescription Drugs, Safely – A Consumer Guide. In the first edition, published in 2008, our data showed a potential average savings on brand name drugs of 73% from verified international online pharmacies; the savings are now 80%. These even greater savings are due largely to increases in drug prices in the United States and stable or even lower drug prices outside the United States.
With generic drugs, the best prices remain in the U.S. By shopping at wholesale club online pharmacies and large retailers with discounted generics, average savings of 82% are possible on widely used generic drug products.
Sadly, too many Americans skip doses or stop taking their medication all together because of cost. In fact, recent data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control shows that 25 million Americans did not take their medication due to cost in 2009. Affording prescription drugs should not be a matter of life and death. Our Consumer Guide offers a lifeline to American patients, enabling them to safely lower their drug costs to access the healthcare they need.
For more information on the Consumer Guide, see our news release.
Tagged with: affordable prescriptions, brand name drugs, consumer guide, drug costs, free, generic drugs, news release, Online Pharmacies, save money, U.S. Center for Disease Control, United States
by Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com and Margaret Rode, PharmacyChecker.com | Mar 11, 2011 | Drug Prices
Last August AARP published an analysis stating that in 2009 brand-name drug prices increased by over 8%. Disturbingly, new AARP data shows that from 2009 to 2010, in the Rochester region of upstate New York, brand-name drug prices increased by a devastating 11%, almost seven times the average inflation rate of 1.6%.
The report, published by Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, the largest health insurer in the Rochester area, also finds that brand name drug prices increased by 93% between 2004 – 2010. This data explains why the number of Americans not taking their medication due to cost – 25 million – has almost doubled over the past ten years, a very sad state of affairs for America.
The report identified steep increases on popular brand name drugs for which there are no generic substitutes, such as Actos, Advair, Lipitor, Singulair and Nexium. For some American patients, U.S. prices are beyond reach and they must go without their medication. The exact same drugs can be found online from verified international online pharmacies at much lower prices, often 80% less, which can make the difference between people taking or not taking their prescribed medication. (more…)
Tagged with: BlueCross BlueShield, brand-name, Congress, Drug Prices, inflation, Medicare Part D, New York, President Obama, taxpayers, United States
by Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com and Margaret Rode, PharmacyChecker.com | Mar 3, 2011 | Drug Prices
Just over one year ago we launched this blog with a post called Drug Price S.O.S. – 120 Million Americans Struggle to Afford Medicine. That number came from a 2008 Harvard School of Public Health study showing that 4 in 10 Americans have trouble affording their prescription drugs. Sadly, the situation has gotten worse.
As reported on MSNBC.com and Reuters, new information released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics shows a dramatic increase in the number of American adults who are unable to afford healthcare. From 1997 to 2009 the precentage of Americans not taking their medications due to cost nearly doubled from – increasing from 4.8 to 8.4%. The earlier Harvard study mentioned above shows 40 percent of Americans struggling with costs; that could mean pill splitting, skipping doses, taking alternatives, or simply going without needed medication. The recent government statistics are clear about how many Americans don’t take their medication due to cost: 25 million! [8.4% of 300 million (the U.S. population) = 25 million]. (more…)
Tagged with: brand name drugs, Drug Prices, Harvard, health insurance, MSNBC, Online Pharmacies, personal drug importation, pill splitting, prescription abandonment, prescriptions, recession, Reuters, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, United States
by PharmacyChecker.com | Feb 18, 2011 | Healthcare Reform, Personal Drug Importation
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…)
Tagged with: AARP, bill, Canadian pharmacies, Congressman Ron Paul, Drug Importation, FDA, healthcare, personal drug importation, Pharmaceutical Market Access and Drug Safety Act, President Obama, S.319, safe drugs, Senate, Senator Chuck Grassley, Senator Snowe, seniors, United States, YouTube
