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
by PharmacyChecker.com | Sep 27, 2012 | Drug Prices, Medication non-adherence
New data from Consumer Reports shows that 67% more adults without prescription benefits under the age of 65 skipped filling a prescription due to high drug prices this year compared to last year. In 2012, 45% of respondents reported they did not fill a prescription due to cost, up from 27% in 2011.
Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs Tracking Poll, July 2012,
Consumer Reports National Research Center. Click to enlarge.
These results should not be surprising. Many Americans aged 50-65 who lost their jobs during the recession also lost their health insurance. This age group has also had the most difficulty finding work after losing their jobs during the recession. These Americans are not yet eligible for Medicare Part D, which helps reduce prescription drug costs.
Alarmingly, the majority of respondents (both insured and uninsured) to the Consumer Reports survey said that they reduced other household expenses in order to pay for medications. Eighty-four percent of uninsured Americans reported a change in behavior in order to pay for medication. The number of insured Americans reporting a change is also high, at 59%. Budgets for groceries decreased, payment of bills postponed, and credit card payments increased: all because of the high cost of medication.
If you are struggling to pay for medication, keep the following in mind when about to purchase medication. Look for generic alternatives to brand name medications in the United States. Look for drug discount cards or coupons if you are purchasing medicine at a local pharmacy. If there’s no generic alternative, you can look for international online pharmacies and often find savings of 90%. Just make sure they are verified and safe, such as those listed on PharmacyChecker.com.
Tagged with: Consumer Reports, Drug Prices, Medication Adherence, pharmacychecker.com
