by Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com and Margaret Rode, PharmacyChecker.com | Aug 13, 2010 | Saving Money on Prescription Drugs
According to the New York Times, about 40 million Americans take cholesterol medications that include chemical entities called statins (the class of drug which lowers plasma cholesterol) — that’s over 10% of the U.S. population! The high cost of some statin-based drugs can deter patients from filling their doctor-prescribed cholesterol medication. Prescription non-adherence for cholesterol medication can be extremely dangerous because studies show that high-cholesterol increases the risk for heart attacks and strokes.
We’ve done some valuable homework on cholesterol drug prices to benefit American consumers struggling to afford such medications. Filling your doctors prescriptions is essential for your health (and when it comes to cholesterol drugs, for your heart) and cost should not inhibit you from doing so.
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Tagged with: cholesterol drugs, save money
by PharmacyChecker.com | Jul 28, 2010 | Drug Prices
In an earlier post we discussed that online drug prices in other counties are falling. This past week an article in Reuters shows current measures by EU governments will bring down prices further in order address tight government budgets.
While this may be good news for Europeans and Americans who take advantage of lower overseas prices by using the safe and low-cost pharmacies approved in the PharmacyChecker.com Verification Program, we hope the decreases abroad won’t lead to further drug price increases here at home by pharmaceutical companies seeking to make up for the short fall in the EU market.
Tagged with: Drug Importation, Europe, Reuters, save money
by PharmacyChecker.com | Jul 22, 2010 | Prescription Drug Reports
The diabetes drug Avandia has been making headlines due to some longstanding safety and side effect concerns. Some doctors and diabetes patients may now be considering alternative medication, such as Actos. We think it is important to point out that both drugs cost thousands of dollars per year, and that the price of Avandia, as well as Actos, at U.S. pharmacies is about 5 – 10 times higher than in some other countries. That in itself is a safety concern – as these drugs remain out of reach to many Americans. Furthermore, people who may switch to Actos will find that it is nearly twice as expensive as Avandia.
The National Diabetes Information Clearing House states, “According to the American Diabetes Association, people with diabetes spend an average of $11,744 a year on health care expenses—more than twice the amount spent by people without diabetes.” What’s more, a 2004 study by researchers at the University of Michigan and Veterans Affairs shows that about one in five older diabetes patients cannot afford necessary medications. Out of 812 people surveyed (50 years and older), 20% said they had skipped prescriptions in the past, almost one-third said they had to limit basic needs like heat and food, and 10% borrowed money, all to cover the costs of their diabetes medication. (more…)
Tagged with: Actos, affordable prescriptions, avandia, diabetes, Drug Prices, drug safety, Online Pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies, save money
