by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | May 31, 2019 | Drug Safety
“Dispense as Written” are the words found on prescriptions in the U.S. when the prescriber wants the patient to take the brand drug, not the generic. Many who read Katherine Eban’s new book – Bottle of Lies: The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom – will conclude that they would like to see “DAW” on their prescriptions.
Bottle of Lies teaches its readers that generic drugs are not as good as the FDA claims. It shows that poor manufacturing practices, mostly in India and China, but also in the U.S., are the leading cause of substandard drugs being sold in U.S. pharmacies and throughout the world. More ominously, India and China intentionally ship even lower quality and, in some cases, worthless drugs to poor countries in Africa and Southeast Asia where regulations are weak or non-existent.
(more…)Tagged with: Bottle of Lies, generics, Katherine Eban
by PharmacyChecker.com | Oct 31, 2011 | Drug Prices
While millions of Americans cannot afford brand name drugs in the United States, clearly this is not the case for generics – and the prices here keep getting lower! Marc’s, an Ohio-based retail pharmacy, has dropped prices for their generic drugs to a record breaking low – now charging just $1.98 for 30-day supplies of some of their generic drugs. Twenty-seven different generics are offered at this price.
Marc’s low-cost pricing comes as a response to their retail competition doing the same. In order to compete with chain store rivals like Target, Wal-mart and Kmart, smaller, local pharmacies are offering some of the lowest prices. Another example, Discount Drug Mart, – also in Ohio – dropped many of their generics to $1.99 for a month’s supply; this led Marc’s to sneak in at a penny less.
If you’re buying online, Costco.com has very low generic drug prices as well. You can compare prices on www.pharmacychecker.com.
Tagged with: Costco, Drug Prices, generic drugs, generics, Kmart, local, low-cost, Marc's, Ohio, Online Pharmacies, Target, United States, Wal-Mart
by Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com and Margaret Rode, PharmacyChecker.com | Aug 17, 2011 | Drug Prices, Medicare Drug Plans
An estimated 43,000 residents of Illinois will find it more difficult, if not impossible, to afford their prescription medication due to heavy budget cuts, according to the Chicago Tribune. Specifically, funding for the Illinois Cares Rx program, which subsidizes the cost of medicine and payments associated with Medicare drug benefits, will be cut in half, from $107.4 million to $53.7 million. Illinois Cares Rx includes people with a Medicare drug plan and others who have no drug benefits at all.
With the cuts in place beginning September 1st, 2011, the Illinois Cares Rx program will only be available to those residents earning 200 percent or less of the federal poverty level – or $21,780 annually, down from a higher threshold of 240%, or $27,610. Even the 173,500 remaining in the program will “face higher co-payments for prescriptions — in some cases, double the amount they were previously paying.” (more…)
Tagged with: Chicago Tribune, consumer guide, discount drug cards, enrollment, generic drug programs, generics, Illinois, Illinois Cares Rx, Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, Medicare, Medicare Drug Plans, PharmacyChecker Verification Program, prescriptions, Target, Wal-Mart
