by Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com and Margaret Rode, PharmacyChecker.com | Dec 16, 2011 | Drug Prices, Personal Drug Importation
Two years ago, ABC News ran a segment (What Would You Do?) that showed Americans going out of their way to help strangers who could not afford their medication. Actors visited local pharmacies pretending they could not afford to pay for their much-needed prescription drugs – something that happens frequently in the U.S. Some people offered to help pay for part or all of the drug orders, and one man even left the pharmacy to get money from an ATM. In addition to financial assistance, these individuals also offered words of solidarity against the outrageous costs. Karen Wenberg (real person) told the woman (actress) she was helping: “Don’t be embarrassed. You know what? Medication is so f***ing expensive. There is no reason to be embarrassed… Sometimes we just pass on the good that’s been given to us.”
As we write this, Congress is marking up a new law, Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), one supported by the Obama administration that could effectively block Americans from acquiring safe and affordable medication from online pharmacies outside the U.S. As the government seeks to rein in spending, why do they want to stop consumers from getting non-tax-payer funded, affordable medication? When people go without medication, they can become sick or get sicker, putting a great burden on the health care system. To see what the government is doing, read RxRight.org’s guest post on techdirt. (more…)
Tagged with: ABC, assistance, brand name drugs, Congress, drug affordability, drug benefits, generic drugs, healthcare, high cost, legislation, local pharmacies, Medicare, pharmaceutical industry, PharmacyChecker Verification Program, prescription abandonment, prescription drugs, RxRights.org, savings, SOPA, Stop Online Piracy Act, tax-payers, tech dirt, United States, What Would You Do?
by PharmacyChecker.com | Jul 29, 2011 | Drug Prices, Online Pharmacies
PharmacyChecker.com was mentioned this week in a U.S. News and World Report article entitled How to Cut Your Drug Costs. Listed among other effective ways to save money on prescription drugs, the article notes that PharmacyChecker “compares prices of mail-order pharmacies, and can help you find the lowest posted prices.”
How to Cut Your Drug Costs reminds readers that buying drugs from Canada – and elsewhere overseas – is technically illegal, but it quotes AARP: “Over the past decade millions of Americans have ignored U.S. law to seek cheaper prices from Canada, most often by mail order.” Notably, AARP found Canadian prices for Lipitor to be about a third less than they are here in the U.S. The fact that the FDA has (to our knowledge) never prosecuted an individual for importing a three-month supply of personal, non-controlled drugs with a valid prescription, means that they too understand the importance of access to safe and affordable medication. (more…)
Tagged with: AARP, brand name drugs, Canada, chain stores, consumer guide, Costco, CVS, drug costs, drugs from canada, generics, Kroger, mail-order pharmacies, Medicare, medicare plan finder, patents, personal drug importation, prescription drugs, Target, U.S. News and World Report, Wal-Mart
by PharmacyChecker.com | Jul 13, 2011 | Saving Money on Prescription Drugs
We’re pleased to announce that we have translated our Guide called How To Save Money on Prescription Drugs, Safely – A Consumer Guide into Spanish, expanding access to our online pharmacy savings information to the Spanish-speaking community. Along with our PharmacyChecker Spanish homepage, and About Online Pharmacies page – Farmacias virtuales y de entrega por correo: Lo que usted debe saber – the Guide can be an exceedingly valuable resource for uninsured and under-insured Spanish-speaking people who live in the United States.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 14.3% of American Hispanics did not take their prescribed medication in 2009 due to cost.The situation is much worse for Hispanic non-citizens, 29 percent who said they did not take their medication due to cost. These dire statistics prove that greater access to affordable medication is most acutely needed by the Hispanic community. We believe that our Guide can help the Hispanic community better access the medicines they need safely.
For more information on our Spanish-Language Consumer Guide, see our recent Press Release – and access the Guide itself, published on our English and Spanish homepages PharmacyChecker.com and PharmacyChecker.com/default_sp.asp.
Tagged with: affordability, community, consumer guide, Hispanic, Latinos, Online Pharmacies, prescription drugs, press release, safety, save money, Spanish, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, United States
