by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | May 9, 2011 | Advocacy, Personal Drug Importation
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.
Tagged with: advocacy campaign, elected officials, RxRights, RxRights.org, Take action
by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | May 3, 2011 | Drug Importation, Saving Money on Prescription Drugs
As the retrial of former Governor Rod Blagojevich on corruption charges commences, we’d like to re-direct your attention to the personal drug importation program he championed. Had that program received better backing from our politicians, fewer Americans would have gone without needed medications.
In October of 2004, a personal drug importation program called I-Save Rx was launched under the leadership of Blagojevich and then Congressman Rahm Immanuel. The lead pharmacist responsible for the program’s development was Ram Kamath, PharmD, now Director of Pharmacy Policy and International Verifications for PharmacyChecker.com. I-Save Rx showed state residents how to access affordable medication from approved pharmacies in Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Within just seven months, Wisconsin, Missouri, Kansas and Vermont had joined the initiative, allowing their residents to participate as well.
Unfortunately, after its approval, the government did not market the I-Save Rx program and it suffered due a lack of political will. But I-Save Rx’s creation proved that government could, without much difficulty, create a program to facilitate the purchase of affordable medication from Canada and other countries. In fact, our current Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, was governor of Kansas when she approved the program for use by her state’s residents. It should speak volumes that the administration official now tasked by President Obama with “protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves” approved of a personal drug importation program and made it available to the residents of Kansas. (more…)
Tagged with: Americans, Blagojevich, Canada, Dr. Ram Kamath, Drug Importation, Health Secretary, I-Save RX, Ireland, Kansas, Kathleen Sebelius, Missouri, President Obama, public health, Rahm Immanuel, Retrial, United Kingdom, United States, Vermont, Wisconsin
by Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com and Margaret Rode, PharmacyChecker.com | Apr 26, 2011 | Drug Prices
A new study published this month finally offers positive news about prescription drugs. Findings from The Use of Medicines in the United States: Review of 2010, by the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, show that 78% of all prescription orders filled are for generic drugs, up from 75% in 2009. Aside from Lipitor, which comes in at number 12, the top 21 most widely used drugs, recorded by filled prescription, are all generic. This is good news because it means that even as brand name prices continue to rise, consumers can still save money on generics.
Consumers need not look past our borders for low priced generic medication since the U.S. usually has the lowest prices. You can find U.S. generic drug prices by comparing prices on www.pharmacychecker.com.
Despite the good news about generic drug utilization, uninsured Americans are too often deprived of access to affordable brand name drugs in the United States where there is no generic alternative. The problem is getting worse, as evidenced by brand name drug price increases of 8.3.% last year and rising numbers of Americans not taking their medication due to cost. Indeed, this is the reason millions of Americans are seeking affordable medication from outside the U.S.
Tagged with: brand name drugs, consumers, Drug Prices, generic, IMS Institute, IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, Lipitor, pharmacychecker.com, prescriptions, United States
by Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com and Margaret Rode, PharmacyChecker.com | Apr 22, 2011 | Drug Prices
We’ve recently reported on actions by foreign governments that lowered drug prices in other countries during the recession – a period in which U.S. drug prices increased. Despite much lower drug costs in other wealthy countries, there are voices of discontent regarding drug prices within these countries as well. This week we decided to take a look at drug prices in the United Kingdom.
This month in England, National Health System (NHS) prescription prices will raise 20 pence (approximately $0.33). This is occurring the same week that Scotland announced it will no longer charge for any NHS prescriptions – a move already in effect in Wales and Northern Ireland. About the increases, patient advocate experts are echoing the same concerns we often write about here. Katherine Murphy, Chief Executive of the Patients Association says:
At a time when many patients are struggling to make ends meet, another increase on charges they must pay is not acceptable. Some patients put off going to their doctor because they do not want to have to pay for their prescriptions. It is essential all patients feel they can access healthcare when they need it and not be deterred by costs.
When looking at the numbers it’s hard to see how such tiny increases on already low drug prices cause great concern. In stark contrast to drug prices in America today, the current cost per prescription in the United Kingdom is £7.40 – or $12. This price is for any written prescription, regardless of quantity, or if it is brand name or generic. And, medication administered in the hospital, at walk-in clinics, or by a general practitioner, plus prescribed contraceptives, are almost always free of charge.
Health organizations in the UK, such as the Patients Association and British Medical Association, view a 2.7% increase, on meds that already cost so little, as a public health issue. Compare that number with brand name drug price increases, reported by AARP, of 8.3% in the U.S. last year – on products that can cost hundreds or even many thousands of dollars a year – and we’re led to wonder, why is the whole American medical establishment not up in arms here?
Tagged with: brand name drugs, British Medical Association, Drug Prices, England, National Health System, NHS, Northern Ireland, Patients Association, public health, recession, Scotland, United Kingdom, United States, Wales
by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | Apr 15, 2011 | Drug Prices
Last month the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced a no contest grant to be awarded to the National Consumers League (NCL) to examine the problem of prescription adherence. The problem is one we discuss almost every week on this blog: Americans are not taking their prescribed medication. Therefore, when we came across an FDA initiative aimed at tackling the problem we were intrigued.
In the FDA announcement we expected to find mention of some of the known causes for Americans not taking their prescribed medications, such as cost, which has previously been proven as the number one reason Americans skip prescriptions. Amazingly, there was not one mention of drug prices or cost in the announcement. In choosing NCL as the recipient of the $40,000 grant it appeared that FDA might be on the right track After all, NCL knows from its own commissioned study that drug prices are the main reason Americans don’t take their medications. NCL has brought together “stakeholders” from government, non-profit organizations and the private sector. This sounds like a good idea. (more…)
Tagged with: AARP, Canada, Drug Prices, FDA, National Consumer's League, National Medication Adherence Campaign, prescription adherence, prescriptions
by PharmacyChecker.com | Apr 8, 2011 | Drug Prices
We don’t mean to sound like a broken record, but more reports keep coming out informing us, and hopefully our elected officials, too, that people are not taking their medication due to cost. Most recently it is the Mayo Clinic.
Based on a study of 209 patients prescribed heart medications, researchers found that among patients who did a poor job following prescriptions, financial concern was the main reason: 46 percent reported that they had stopped taking statins or not filled a prescription because of cost, and 23 percent acknowledged skipping doses to save money.
If there was ever ambiguity about whether high drug prices are a major threat to the public health, there is no longer. Data gathered by the U.S. Center for Disease Control, the National Consumer’s League, and Harvard School of Public Health, and, now, from the Mayo Clinic proves the point. We’ve dedicated time and effort in finding solutions to this health emergency. Our Consumer Guide can help Americans alleviate this burden and our advocacy initiative provides them with a platform to speak up to their elected officials.
Tagged with: Advocacy, Center for Disease Control, consumer guide, Harvard School of Public Health, Mayo Clinic, medication, National Consumer's League, prescription abandonment, skipping medicine, United States
