by Tod Cooperman, MD, President, PharmacyChecker.com, and Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com | Sep 28, 2010 | Online Pharmacies
To remind our readers about the White House meeting on Wednesday, September 29th — where discussions will be held with leaders from ICANN and domain registrars to address the issue of online pharmacies and counterfeit drugs — we’re republishing the post of the letter we sent to ICANN stating our position.
September 13th, 2010
Mr. John O. Jeffery
General Counsel
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
4676 Admiralty Way, Suite 330
Marina del Rey, CA 90292-6601
RE: White House meeting to discuss online pharmacies
Dear John –
We are the president and vice president of PharmacyChecker.com, the leading online verification company for U.S. and international online pharmacies. We learned recently of the White House meeting scheduled for September 29th intended to focus on “voluntary protocols to address the illegal online sale of counterfeit non-controlled prescription medication” (the “Meeting”).
The broader legal and policy issues affecting whether and when ICANN and its members should accede to government requests to deny or cancel domain name registrations is a very serious one for the future of the internet, and is generally beyond our purview. Our purpose is to set out for you and your members some considerations that should affect your evaluation of whatever may be presented at the Meeting. We request that you make this letter available to all members invited to or attending the Meeting. The letter is necessarily in summary form, and we would be pleased to provide upon request additional information that may assist you. (more…)
Tagged with: domain registrars, FDA, ICANN, Meeting, NABP
by PharmacyChecker.com | Sep 27, 2010 | Medicare Drug Plans
As we previously reported, nearly 3 million seniors will be forced to change their Medicare drug plan this year due to the new health reform law. Now, in addition to the millions who have to, many may voluntarily change plans if their premiums go up, which is likely. A new report from Avalere Health, a private research firm, shows that among the top Medicare plans, premiums are expected raise an average of 10%.
In general, Medicare officials say the average premium should only raise 1%, but on the high end it could be up to 43%! Enrollees of the First Health Part D Premier Plus plan offered by Coventry Health Care will see monthly payments rise from $64 to $91 – that’s over $300 for the year. Another startling change will be for members of the AARP MedicareRX Saver plan, the second most popular among seniors. These enrollees will be switched to the largest plan, AARP MedicareRX Preferred, and will see, on average, a 15% raise in premiums. (more…)
Tagged with: AARP, Avalere Health, Healthcare Reform, MedicareRX Preferred, MedicareRX Saver plan, Part D, seniors
by Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com and Margaret Rode, PharmacyChecker.com | Sep 23, 2010 | Healthcare Reform
Our health care focus at PharmacyChecker.com is, of course, prescription drug safety and savings. But today we want to simply recognize and report on the first real benefits to come from the now six-month-old health care law. Health insurance companies must make some seriously consumer-friendly changes. As of now, insurers:
– Must not exclude children from coverage because of pre-existing health conditions. The White House has noted that this may explain coverage to 72,000 children who were previously insured.
– Must offer adult children under the age of 26 coverage under their parent’s health plans.
– Will be prohibited from dropping customers due to technical mistakes on their applications. (more…)
Tagged with: health reform, Healthcare Reform
by Tod Cooperman, MD, President, PharmacyChecker.com, and Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com | Sep 21, 2010 | Online Pharmacies
The letter below is an updated version of the one mailed on September 13th.
September 13th, 2010
Mr. John O. Jeffery
General Counsel
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
4676 Admiralty Way, Suite 330
Marina del Rey, CA 90292-6601
RE: White House meeting to discuss online pharmacies
Dear John –
We are the president and vice president of PharmacyChecker.com, the leading online verification company for U.S. and international online pharmacies. We learned recently of the White House meeting scheduled for September 29th intended to focus on “voluntary protocols to address the illegal online sale of counterfeit non-controlled prescription medication” (the “Meeting”).
The broader legal and policy issues affecting whether and when ICANN and its members should accede to government requests to deny or cancel domain name registrations is a very serious one for the future of the internet, and is generally beyond our purview. Our purpose is to set out for you and your members some considerations that should affect your evaluation of whatever may be presented at the Meeting. We request that you make this letter available to all members invited to or attending the Meeting. The letter is necessarily in summary form, and we would be pleased to provide upon request additional information that may assist you. (more…)
Tagged with: FDA, ICANN, John O. Jeffery, Joseph Biden, NABP, United States, voluntary agreements, White House
by Tod Cooperman, MD, President, PharmacyChecker.com, and Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com | Sep 16, 2010 | Big Pharma
Today we asked the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and any other appropriate government agencies to investigate possible violations of government ethics laws by John Horton, president and founder of LegitScript.com, while he was Associate Deputy Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and after leaving his government post.
Our request was sent to Committee Chairman Edolphus Towns and Ranking Member Darrell Issa.
Mr. Horton appears to have misused and abused his government position for private gain by starting, while in office, an online pharmacy verification service, LegitScript.com, and given unfair market advantage to his business. More importantly, his actions appear to have violated the will of Congress, misled the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and instigated and/or encouraged government actions by ONDCP and other government agencies adverse to the interests of Americans, specifically hindering access by Americans to safe and affordable medication.
As further described in our letter, we believe that, to serve his private interests and those of prospective pharmaceutical and pharmacy clients, Mr. Horton appears to have subverted the activities of ONDCP by ignoring the congressional request found in Section 1107 of the Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 2006 to develop strategies to stop the online advertising of controlled substances without a prescription. Instead, Mr. Horton developed strategic policies for blocking the online advertising of all prescription medication from licensed Canadian and other non-US pharmacies that do require a prescription. Such pharmacies have been a lifeline to affordable medication for millions of Americans.
Click here to read the full request and view supporting exhibits.
Tagged with: committee on oversight and government reform, government ethics violations, investigation, john horton, LegitScript, ONDCP
by Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com and Margaret Rode, PharmacyChecker.com | Sep 2, 2010 | Healthcare Reform, Medicare Drug Plans
About three million seniors enrolled in Medicare may have to switch their prescription drug benefit plan next year, says TheHill.com. The changes are due to provisions of the healthcare law that seek to make it easier for people to choose Medicare Part D plans. However, the process of change itself may be messy for many. The purpose is to create fewer plans per region by requiring that plan sponsors drop plans that offer no “meaningful differences” from other plans offered by those same sponsors. Prior to the passage of healthcare legislation, many experts had criticized the number of available plans as too complicated and called for such streamlining.
But critics point out that these changes break the Obama administration’s promise that consumers can keep their current plans. The final changes are yet to be determined, but they are expected to make things easier for first time enrollees and more difficult for customers already participating in the plans.
Unfortunately, some Medicare enrollees discover that their plans do not cover the drugs they need, forcing them to pay out-of-pocket for such products. Comparing prices online at PharmacyChecker.com can help.
To read and write reviews of Medicare drug plans, see our sister site, MedicareDrugPlans.com.
Tagged with: drug benefit plan, health, Medicare Drug Plans, medicaredrugplans.com, Part D
