AARP just released its Rx Price Watch Report and the data doesn’t do your wallet any favors. Thankfully, verified international online pharmacies offer the price relief consumers need but can’t find locally. AARP has recommended that consumers consult PharmacyChecker.com to avoid rogue online pharmacy scams.
The AARP report painted quite a grim picture concerning the lack of drug price relief in the U.S.:
The article “Taming Drug Prices by Pulling Back the Curtain Online” in the New York Times (February 10, 2016) features a new website, Blink Health, which shows reduced drug prices available through local U.S. pharmacies. Its limitation is that savings are mostly on generic drugs, which, for the most part, are already fairly inexpensive. Describing Blink and a similar site, GoodRx, the article notes that, “The sites cannot help much with brand-name drugs, which are made by a single manufacturer and carry prices that can be as high as hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
The article fails to mention that the largest pharmacy savings on the Internet are from international online pharmacies which can offer you the lowest prices worldwide. These prices can be found on PharmacyChecker.com, which “pulls back the curtain” even further than Blink Health and GoodRx by exposing the huge gap (often more than 80%) between drug prices in the U.S. and those in other countries — such as Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Turkey, and the UK. You can also find discounted local U.S. pharmacy prices on PharmacyChecker.com.
The table below shows the lowest prices on popular brand name drugs found on PharmacyChecker.com, BlinkHealth.com, and GoodRx.com in comparison to regular U.S. pharmacy pricing.
Lowest Prices and Greatest Savings on Brand Name Drugs Using PharmacyChecker, Blink Health, and GoodRx
| Drug Name (Strength and Quantity*) | PharmacyChecker (PC) | Blink Health (BH) | GoodRx (GR) | Regular Price at Local Pharmacy | Greatest Savings Off Regular Price (Source) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advair Diskus (250-50; 180 doses ) | $100.99 | Not Available | $946.72 | $1,179.00 | 91% (PC) |
| Crestor (10 mg; 90 pills) | $44.99 | $779.64 | $718.12 | $870.00 | 95% (PC) |
| Eliquis (5 mg; 180 pills) | $391.99 | $1,046.28 | $961.67 | $1,141.00 | 66% (PC) |
| Januvia (100 mg; 90 pills) | $101.15 | $1,139.64 | $1,046.94 | $1,290.00 | 92% (PC) |
| Xarelto (20 mg; 90 pills) | $347.59 | $1,045.31 | $960.81 | $1,141.00 | 70% (PC) |
* Quantity represents a standard 3 month supply.
Sorry to sound macabre, but you could die if you don’t fill and adhere to your healthcare practitioner’s prescription for Xarelto (ravaroxaban). It is an anticoagulant, a medication that lowers the rate of blood clots and thereby lowers the risk of stroke. Especially if you were diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation, a condition characterized by problems associated with irregular heart rate or rhythm, it’s likely that you were prescribed an anticoagulant, such as Xarelto, Pradaxa, or Warfarin. I’m talking about Xarelto because it’s a relatively new brand name drug, which is not available as a generic, and some people who need it might not be able to afford it. It is not necessarily the best anticoagulant out there for you. Alternative medications are available and in use.
If you don’t have insurance or your insurance does not cover Xarelto, then you could face the out-of-pocket costs, which are about $1,176 for a three-month supply of the 20mg pill. If you can afford that then consider yourself lucky. For those who cannot, you could try a Xarelto patient assistance program. Alternatively, ask your doctor or other healthcare provider, and do your own research about another anti-coagulant, such as Pradaxa and Warfarin, that could work for you.
If you do not qualify for a patient assistance program, and your healthcare provider insists on Xarelto, there are verified international online pharmacies that sell brand name Xarelto at a very low price. In fact, the lowest cost international option runs you $2.08/pill, which is $187.20 for 90 tablets. That’s a savings of 84% or almost $1,000 over three months, $4,000 over the course of a year, versus the cash price at some U.S. pharmacies.
For those interested in where your medications come from: the Xarelto 20mg you buy in the U.S. is manufactured in Puerto Rico, according to the U.S. label. Our research shows that the lowest cost international option for Xarelto was manufactured in Germany by Bayer Pharma AG.
I started this post noting the mortality risks of not taking prescribed medications. I’d like to now return to this public health issue not in order to inflame or dramatize but to remind consumers and health officials about the public crisis of high drug prices. Strokes often cause death. Not taking your prescribed anticoagulant can increase your chance of having a stroke. Thirty-five million Americans don’t fill a prescription each year due to high prices; if Xarelto was one of these medicines, then its high price may have prevented people from obtaining it. Some of those people, unfortunately, may have had strokes and passed away. The point here is to not ignore your healthcare provider’s prescription and advice. Follow-up quickly and fill your prescription. If you can’t afford it, then pursue all available options.
