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Helping Americans Get The Truth About Prescription Drug Savings
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Correcting the Public Record about Online Pharmacies and Personal Drug Importation

Correcting the Public Record about Online Pharmacies and Personal Drug Importation

Correcting the Public Record about Online Pharmacies and Personal Drug Importation

In July of the 2013, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report about Internet Pharmacies with a focus on foreign websites that I believe strongly distorted the public record about buying medication online through personal drug importation. GAO’s report was submitted to Congress in response to Section 1127 of the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act, intended to protect the public health. I wrote a report to refute the GAO’s positions in order to correct the public record regarding the intersection of online pharmacies, personal drug importation, drug affordability and the public health. I believe that my report about online pharmacies proves that the GAO’s efforts fell very short in getting to the truth about buying medication online.

Americans buy lower cost and safe medication internationally, often online, and it benefits their health and financial well-being. If it were not for the option of personally importing lower cost medication, often using the Internet, many Americans would just not be able to get medical treatments they need. People who can’t take needed medication often get sick and may even die.  The GAO report did not mention these facts.

The GAO seemed to conflate safe international online pharmacies with rogue online pharmacies in the same manner we’ve come to expect from the pharmaceutical industry, U.S. pharmacy trade associations and the FDA – by calling safe international online pharmacies “rogue.” The problem, for me, is that its lead author is not with the pharmaceutical industry, a U.S. pharmacy trade association, or the FDA. She is someone I’ve come to admire over the years just by following her work with GAO. So I can’t just say “look, it’s big Pharma again!” So for almost a year and a half I’ve written a report to, in part, prove to and remind myself that “we’re right and they’re wrong.” I’ve done that. I look forward to this report becoming a part of the public record.

Rogue online pharmacies, meaning drug-selling websites that are not safe (see my report for details), should be shutdown. Let’s get rid of them! However, if our elected leaders and regulators allow or enact policies to bring about an end to online access by Americans to safe and affordable medication and people get hurt, then they can’t say they didn’t know.

Below, I’ve pasted the cover letter from Tod Cooperman, MD, president of PharmacyChecker.com, and I that accompanied the hardcopy of the report we sent the congressional committees that received the GAO’s report in 2013. Each week we’ll be commenting on and posting the different sections of my report. To read the report now, visit “Online Pharmacies, Personal Drug Importation and Public Health”.

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Prescription Savings Online Now Average 85%; Avoid Rogue Pharmacies

Safe online pharmacies outside the U.S. sell popular brand name medicine at prices that average 85% lower than American pharmacies, according to our new analysis of online and local U.S. pharmacy prices. The analysis compares cash prices for top-selling brand name medications in the U.S. to prices for the same medicines abroad. All international online pharmacies in the study are licensed and require prescriptions.

The savings ranged from 82% for Celebrex to 91% for Nexium. Annual dollar savings averaged just over $3,000. The study noted the rising costs of prescription drugs in America and, perhaps surprisingly, the fact that these same drugs are becoming cheaper abroad. Average savings have increased from 80% in March, 2011.

For more information, view the press release. To view price comparisons among online pharmacies, visit PharmacyChecker.com.

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Online Pharmacy or Discount Card? The Choice Isn’t So Clear

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

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