Prescription drug costs in the U.S. remain high, and consumers are constantly looking for ways to save. We recommend verified online pharmacies, such as those listed on PharmacyChecker.com.
However, if you need your medication immediately, an online or mail order pharmacy won’t cut it. Luckily, there are many other options to save; for example, many chain drug stores offer low cost generics and manufacturers offer coupons for their products.
Discount drug cards also offer savings and can be used in pharmacies across the United States for a wide variety of brand name and generic drugs. They seem like the perfect solution if you need medicine right away – just print the drug card, bring it to your local pharmacy, and count the savings!
But just because they can be used quickly, doesn’t mean they offer the best price on your medicine. Different drug cards carry different discounts. While one offers 70% savings on a drug, say Lipitor, another card might not have any savings at all.
There is no way to easily find the best price among different drug cards, and for some you can’t even find out the price of your medicine until you have a prescription. We investigated the prices for three different drugs for three different cards and compared them to the cash price at a local pharmacy and prices from PharmacyChecker.com-approved international online pharmacies.
As shown below, we found the average savings using the lowest-cost online pharmacy was 82%, but savings averaged only 23% across the discount drug cards. We recommend using a PharmacyChecker.com-approved online international pharmacy for brand name medications and for many generics. If you need a medicine right away, though, it’s best to print out a few drug cards and head down to the local pharmacy.
Drug Prices Using Prescription Cards vs. Online Pharmacy
Drug
Bricks and Mortar Pharmacy*
RxFreeCard.com
EasyDrugCard.com
RxSavingsPlus.com
PharmacyChecker.com-approved Online Pharmacy**
Lipitor 40 mg (30)
$225.99
$184.68
$178.09
$189.64
$35.00
Plavix 75 mg (30)
$257.99
$214.00
$203.85
$216.74
$49.20
Simvastatin 40 mg (30) (Generic Zocor)
$49.99
$4.00
$13.36
$33.30
$12.30
*Local Pharmacy in New York City, prices collected 8/20/2012 **Lowest price as listed on PharmacyChecker.com on 8/23/2012
Americans are speaking out against the provisions of a new law signed by President Obama on July 9th that will hinder their access to safe and affordable medication. In a news story last week on a Minneapolis-St. Paul NBC affiliate, Kare 11, we learn about Minnesotans who could be negatively affected by Section 708 of Food and Drug Administration Innovation and Safety Act, which allows for the seizure and destruction of personally imported medication.
Rico Anderson imports his prescription medicine for Crohn’s disease from Canada, paying $135 for a one month supply. In the U.S., this medicine would cost over $700 a month. That’s almost $7,000 dollars in annual savings. In contemplating having to face higher U.S. prices, Mr. Rico lamented that: “if it gets to a point where you’re deciding if you have to buy your medicine or pay your mortgage or put food on your table what are you going to do?”
The NBC report features Lee Graczyk, lead organizer of RxRights, a prescription affordability advocacy group. Days before the law passed Mr. Graczyk emphasized both the economic and health costs that result from unaffordable medication: “People are using this option because they cannot afford to buy the medications here. If this law passes, they can’t afford to buy the medications and stop taking the medications, they not only put their health at risk, but as a nation, it’s going to cost us more money.”
Visit RxRights.org to learn how Americans can fight back and protect their access to safe personal prescription drug importation from verified online pharmacies.
To compare prices on prescription medication from Canada and other foreign countries visit PharmacyChecker.com.
A new study, reviewed in Medpage Today, finds that seniors falling into the Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage gap, often referred to as the “doughnut hole,” reduced the number of monthly anti-depressant prescriptions they filled by 12.1% compared to those with full coverage. In 2012, Part D plans share drug costs with enrollees up to $2,930. With co-pays, premiums, and deductibles seniors pay about $1,500 up to that point. After $2,930 the doughnut hole begins and plan enrollees pay out-of-pocket until they have spent $4,700 – after which the plans pay for 95% of drug costs.
We’ve previously reported that the doughnut hole is a serious health issue for America’s seniors who are unable to afford needed medication. The new healthcare law offers seniors substantial discounts in the doughnut hole on brand name medications, and by 2020 the doughnut hole will supposedly be closed. The discounts help seniors to access medicine, but the crisis of skipped medicine will persist through the decade. Until then, it’s critical that seniors do not stop taking needed medications.
Medicare enrollees in the doughnut hole face very high drug costs for popular products such as Lexapro, Cymbalta and Abilify, all used to treat depression. These very medications are, on average, 80% less expensive if ordered from the lowest priced verified online pharmacies. See the chart below for price comparisons of verified international online pharmacies and a U.S. bricks and mortar pharmacy.
Prices for Three-month Supplies of Popular Anti-Depressants
Drug
U.S. Bricks and Mortar Pharmacy*
Lowest Pharmacy-Checker.com Listed Price**
Savings Over 3 Months
Percent Savings
Savings Over 1 Year
Abilify 10 mg
$1,881.99
$332.10
$1,549.89
82.35%
$6.199.56
Cymbalta 30 mg
$637.00
$133.20
$503.80
79.09%
$6,199.56
Lexapro 10 mg
$351.00
$84.61
$266.40
75.90%
$1,065.60
Average:
$956.66
$183.30
$773.36
80.84%
$3,093
* Pharmacy in New York City, price collected 7/5/2012
**Lowest price listed on PharmacyChecker.com as of 7/5/2012
Welcome to PharmacyChecker Blog, brought to you by PharmacyChecker.com:
A source for news and analysis about drug prices and safety, online pharmacies and personal drug importation, published on behalf of American consumers.
