by PharmacyChecker.com | Nov 5, 2012 | Advocacy, Personal Drug Importation
Congratulations to President Obama on his re-election. We hope his next administration will heed the stories Americans are telling about their struggles to afford prescription medication. On that note, we loudly applaud our friends at RxRights.org for continuing to fight for Americans who are struggling to afford needed medication. A new webpage from RxRights.org brings testimonials from hundreds of Americans across the country into one place. Their stories remind us why access by Americans to safe, foreign online pharmacies is a matter of protecting the public health, and that blocking access will only endanger it.
Below are two excerpts from the new RxRights.org testimonial page:
“Current purchases of medicine from licensed online Canadian pharmacies are saving my wife and me at least $1000 per month and mean the difference between us living or dying. Without these meds, we would both be dead by now…” — Florida.
“My husband has COPD and in three months with Part D he is in the donut hole. Thank God for our Canadian pharmacy, they have helped to keep him alive for many years” — New York
SOURCE: http://www.rxrights.org/testimonials
Tagged with: Canadian Pharmacy, Drug Importation, RxRights.org
by PharmacyChecker.com | Oct 31, 2012 | Drug Prices, Online Pharmacies, Prescription Drug Reports
Advair Diskus is one of the most popular brand name drugs for the treatment of asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). It combines fluticasone, an inhaled corticosteroid, and salmeterol a long acting beta antagonist (LABA). With over 25 million Americans suffering from asthma, and an estimated annual cost of $3,300 per person, asthma patients are looking for any way possible to save.1
Advair Diskus costs $834 for a three-month supply at a local pharmacy in the U.S. Annualized, that’s over $2,500! While discount cards and coupons can help you save on Advair if you want to buy it from your local pharmacy, there are much larger savings online. Discount cards and coupons offer about 5% and 4% savings respectively. Ordering from a credentialed online pharmacy can save you over 87%.That’s over $2,900 per year.
If you need Advair immediately, and can’t wait 2 weeks or so to receive your medicine in the mail, then shop locally. When it’s time to refill, the best savings are by far found online. Just make sure you order from a verified, online pharmacy, such as those listed on PharmacyChecker.com. Whatever you do, don’t stop taking your medicine.
We’ve made a chart to show you the savings offered through various programs. Take a look below:
Savings on three-month supply of Advair 250-50 mcg
| Program |
Price |
Savings over Local Pharmacy |
Percent savings |
| U.S. Local Pharmacy |
$834 |
— |
— |
| Discount Card Option |
$789.36 |
$44.64 |
5.4% |
| Discount Coupon Option |
$797.61 |
$36.39 |
4.4% |
| U.S. Online Pharmacy |
$759.90 |
$74.10 |
8.9% |
| International Online Pharmacy |
$108 |
$726 |
87.1% |
Local pharmacy in New York City, International Online Pharmacy price as found on PharmacyChecker.com. Prices collected 10/29/2012
And for your own convenience, here are links to pricing pages for all strengths of Advair. Happy savings, and stay healthy!
Advair Diskus 100-50 mcg
Advair Diskus 250-50 mcg
Advair Diskus 500-50 mcg
1American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology, http://www.aaaai.org/about-the-aaaai/newsroom/asthma-statistics.aspx
Tagged with: Advair Diskus, Online Pharmacies, prescription savings
by PharmacyChecker.com | Oct 24, 2012 | Drug Prices, Online Pharmacies, Prescription Drug Reports
Abilify is a top selling brand name medication used to treat a variety of conditions for various age groups, including schizophrenia for ages 13 and older, bipolar I disorder for ages 10 and over, and major depressive disorder in adults. Unfortunately, it’s a very expensive drug, but luckily there are ways to save thousands of dollars a year.
In 2011, Americans spent over 5.2 billion dollars on Abilify. Its cash price at a local pharmacy for a three-month’s supply of 10 milligram tablets is just over $2,200. Luckily, if you’re looking for Abilify and don’t have insurance (or if your insurance doesn’t cover it) you don’t have to pay this high price! The savings are by far greatest online, but if you need your medicine immediately and can’t wait 2-3 weeks for shipping, you can use a coupon or discount card at your local pharmacy.
By using a coupon at your local pharmacy, you can save about 16%, bringing the 90 day cost down to $1,858. Using a discount card brings slightly better savings at 22% and a 90 day cost of $1,737.
That’s still a lot of money to spend per year on medication. By ordering through an international online pharmacy, you can save 85%, and spend only $330 over 90 days. The annualized potential savings are $7,535! Here’s a handy chart that shows the savings:
Three-Month’s Supply of Abilify (10 mg) Cost
|
Price |
Savings over Local Pharmacy |
Percent Savings |
| Local Pharmacy: |
$2,214 |
– |
– |
| Discount Card Option: |
$1,737 |
$477 |
22% |
| Coupon Option |
$1,858 |
$356 |
16% |
| U.S. Online Pharmacy: |
$1,778 |
$436 |
20% |
| International Online Pharmacy |
$330 |
$1,184 |
81% |
Local pharmacy in New York City, International Online Pharmacy price as found on PharmacyChecker.com. Prices collected 10/24/2012
If you choose to order online, make sure the pharmacy is verified as safe by a third party, such as those listed on PharmacyChecker.com. Here are links to our price comparisons for the different strengths of Abilify:
Tagged with: Abilify, affordable prescriptions, Drug Prices, Online Pharmacies
by Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com and Sam Werbalowsky, Pharmacychecker.com | Oct 17, 2012 | Medicare Drug Plans
Open enrollment for Medicare Part D (Drug Plans) began this week. If you are eligible for Medicare Part D, and want to sign up for a plan or change your current plan, you should be sure to find the plan that works best for you.
Be sure to check out MedicareDrugPlans.com to compare and contrast plans; and don’t worry – plan ratings are completely objective, as we are not affiliated with any plan. In fact, the ratings are provided by people who actually use the plans, based on criteria like deductible, monthly premium, drug coverage, and customer service. Perhaps even more helpful than the ratings are the written reviews where Medicare Part D enrollees explain their experiences with plans, often expressing frustration with formularies that change mid-year, problems at the pharmacy using the plans, or copay issues. If you want to recommend (or steer people away from) a plan, make sure to leave a rating and review.
Once you’ve chosen a plan based on ratings and reviews, head to the government’s site, Medicare.gov to make sure the plan covers your medications, compare final costs and sign up for it. The average premium nationally is $53.55, which is down over a dollar than last year. The maximum drug deductible is $325, up $5 from last year
There are changes for enrollees who enter the coverage gap (“donut hole”) this year. While some plans do offer gap coverage for generics and brand name medication, most do not. However, once you enter the donut hole, you get a 50% discount on covered brand-name drugs, though the drug’s whole value will go towards closing the gap.
As open enrollment begins, Medicare enrollees interested in a drug plan are urged to research carefully. Whatever plan you choose will go into effect starting January 1st, 2013 and last for one full year – so get it right! Visit MedicareDrugPlans.com now!
Tagged with: Medicare Drug Plans, Medicare Part D, medicaredrugplans.com
by Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com and Sam Werbalowsky, Pharmacychecker.com | Oct 11, 2012 | Drug Prices, Medication non-adherence
A major U.S. pharmacy has finally said that high drug prices are the biggest barrier to medication adherence. A recent study from CVS Caremark revealed that 62% of pharmacists said high drug prices are the most common cause of prescription nonadherence (not taking your meds) among their patients. Ninety-one percent of pharmacists said that cost efficient alternatives to expensive therapies would improve adherence.
While previous studies from the pharmaceutical and pharmacy industries have mentioned that that cost is a barrier to medication, this is the first industry study to our knowledge that says cost is the primary barrier. Oddly enough, the pharmacy industry, including CVS and Caremark, is one of the industries profiting from high drug prices.
High drug prices are bad for public health. Medication adherence is linked to 125,000 deaths and 290 billion dollars in excess health spending per year (hospitalizations and emergency room spending, among others). High drug prices cause a large part of this – 48 million Americans did not fill a prescription due to cost in 2010.
Americans – both as patients and taxpayers – deserve access to low cost medication. As patients, our health is on the line. As taxpayers we are funding hospital stays and emergency room visits. Lower drug prices are needed in America – and the benefits go beyond simply having extra cash in your pocket.
And as far as savings go, remember to ask your pharmacist how to save. Generic medications, discount cards, and coupons offer some savings. For brand name medications without generic alternatives, you’ll find the best savings at an online pharmacy. Just make sure it’s safe and credentialed, like those listed on PharmacyChecker.com. Whatever you do, don’t forgo needed prescription medication.
Tagged with: CVS Caremark, Drug Prices, Medication non-adherence, Online Pharmacy
by Tod Cooperman, MD, President, PharmacyChecker.com, and Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com | Oct 3, 2012 | Drug Prices, FDA, Online Pharmacies
A new U.S. FDA public education campaign called BeSafeRx (www.fda.gov/BeSafeRx) would be much more helpful if it were more truthful. In launching the campaign, designed to alert consumers to the potential dangers of online pharmacies, the FDA Commissioner said, “If the low prices seem too good to be true, they probably are.” In actuality, low prices from online pharmacies outside the U.S. are often quite real and are offered from licensed pharmacies selling genuine products. The problem is that U.S. prices are just unbelievably high. The U.S. pharmaceutical and pharmacy industries (which don’t want to lose profits and consumers to lower priced pharmacies) in other countries, have come out as big supporters of BeSafeRx.
Correctly, the FDA alerts consumers that there are thousands of dangerous pharmacy sites that should be avoided, but safe international pharmacies do exist. Independent studies and over a decade of experience show the high degree of safety Americans can find in personally imported medication from online pharmacies which have been properly credentialed by PharmacyChecker.com. For many Americans they provide the only way to afford their medicine. International online pharmacies verified by PharmacyChecker.com require prescriptions and sell genuine medication at prices much lower than available domestically: often 90% lower.
The big losers of FDA’s online pharmacy campaign are American consumers and taxpayers. American consumers lose by having to pay much higher prices in U.S. pharmacies, or, tragically, by not taking their medication at all. In 2010, 48 million Americans did not fill a prescription due to high drug prices, according the Commonwealth Fund. This is a national health crisis, which is only getting worse. As taxpayers, we lose because when people end up getting sick by not taking needed medication they are more likely to end up in emergency rooms across the county incurring medical costs paid for by our dwindling national coffers (you and me).
Remember, our Secretary of the Health and Human Services Department (which oversees the FDA) – Kathleen Sebelius – operated her own drug importation program as Governor of Kansas. During her tenure, consumers could order prescription medication from pharmacies in the Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the UK found through the State of Kansas website. If it was safe then it is safe now. It appears that only the political calculation has changed in perverse deference to the big pharmaceutical companies.
Tod Cooperman, MD, President, and Gabriel Levitt, Vice President
PharmacyChecker.com
Tagged with: BeSafeRx, Drug Prices, FDA, Kathleen Sebelius
