by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | Jun 28, 2010 | Big Pharma
A new group called the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies (www.safeonilnerx.com) is working to prevent access to safe and affordable online pharmacies (Also see our article about a deceptive news release published by this group). Its membership and “observers” include the usual pharmacy, pharma and pharma-front groups: American Pharmacists Association, Eli Lilly & Company, LegitScript.com, National Association of Chain Drugstores, National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), National Health Council, and the Partnership for Safe Medicines.
The group’s stated mission is “to protect patient safety and ensure patient access to safe and legitimate online pharmacies in accordance with U.S. laws.” The unstated premise is that since it is technically illegal for Americans to personally import medication from abroad, only U.S. pharmacies (i.e., those that are members of its own member organizations) are in accordance with U.S. laws. (more…)
Tagged with: Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies, LegitScript.com, NABP, Online Pharmacies, Online Pharmacy Verification Services, personal drug importation, SafeMedicines.org, safeonlinerx.com
by Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com and Margaret Rode, PharmacyChecker.com | Jun 24, 2010 | Drug Importation
At the beginning of the 21st century, what started out as a trickle of American seniors buying drugs in Canada in order to save money, turned into millions of Americans over the past decade buying their drugs from Canadian and other international pharmacies. At that time, the demand was largely due to the fact that Medicare did not include a drug benefit, and tens of millions of seniors had to pay entirely out-of-pocket for their prescriptions drugs. Not only has this industry helped millions of Americans afford prescription drugs and created public awareness about international drug price disparities, but it has affected U.S. healthcare policy, leading to greater health coverage. (more…)
Tagged with: Canadian pharmacies, Dorgan, Drug Prices, Healthcare Reform, international pharmacies, Medicare, Medicare Drug Plans, Online Pharmacies, policy, seniors, Snowe
by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | Jun 2, 2010 | Politics
Senator Byron Dorgan (D-SD), who is leaving congress at the end of this term, continues to stand up to the pharmaceutical industry and on behalf of American consumers, as he is once again trying to push forward legislation that legalizes drug importation in a manner that could make prescription medication more affordable. In December of 2009, Dorgan introduced an amendment to H.R. 3590: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to legalize drug importation, which received 51 yeas and 48 nays, falling short of the 60 votes needed for passage. Now Dorgan plans to introduce his legislation as an amendment to the food safety bill, which is sponsored by John Dingell (D-Mich). Dingell, however, is an adamant opponent to drug importation and is against attaching the amendment to his bill. Read the details in The Hill.
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Tagged with: Dorgan, Drug Prices, Healthcare Reform, Online Pharmacies, personal drug importation, pharmaceutical companies, phrma, policy
