Canada: Your prescription for lower drug prices

This is for the 14 million seniors who, like me, have chronic illness and no prescription drug coverage. Bush's heralded Medicare Drug Benefit will do little but transfer almost a trillion dollars from our pockets to the insurance and drug companies

Unfortunately, it doesn't go into effect until next January. Only then will seniors discover how they've been duped. In the meantime, and after, millions of us must continue to look North if we're to afford both food and medicine.

Here's the scoop:

After investigating several Canadian pharmacies, my wife and I paid $624.77 for a three-month supply of drugs at Vancouver's DoctorSolve. These same drugs cost us $1,208.04 buying at Walgreen's, Target, and Kmart where we shopped for the lowest prices.

That's a saving of $583.27 which includes a Canadian physician's rewriting your doctor's prescriptions required by Canuck law personal consultations, and shipping. Chances are, you‘ll save 25 to 80 percent buying your drugs in Canada.

There are big savings to be had across the board. A 100-day supply of Celebrex 200 mg is $151 in Canada, about $262 at your corner drug store. Nexium is $240 (112 pills) there, $380 (90 pills) here. Lipitor 20 mg (90) is $174 there, $290 here. Have your doctor write 40 mg Lipitor, cut them in half, and save 180 bucks.

There is nothing illegal about buying drugs in Canada. For years, Americans have been driving across the border to buy prescription drugs at lower government-regulated Canadian prices.

Now, Canadian drugstores are marketing mail-order drugs directly, offering anyone in the US with a valid US prescription the benefits of Canadian price controls. As of September, 2005, over two million American seniors 33 percent more than in 2003 are taking advantage of these huge savings.

No one wants to arrest granny

What's the catch? If Big Pharma had its way, customs and the FDA would be confiscating all imported drugs, crying that the government can't guarantee their safety. But that just isn't the case. Your pharmaceuticals from Canada normally come in factory-sealed packages. There’s a higher chance of getting conterfeit pills at your corner drugstore.

Anyway, it would be politically incorrect to arrest grandma for trying to make ends meet. Some members of Congress even encourage the practice by listing Canadian pharmacies on their Web sites.

Here's how it works. For current prices, either call or visit the Web sites of some of the many reputable Canadian drug stores offering this service. Since each store has different prices as well as varying shipping costs, etc., comparisons can be tricky.

Once you decide on a druggist, simply fax your prescriptions for a 90-day supply, renewable in three months. In my case, a doctor then called and reviewed each script with me. Furnish your credit card number and you'll have your drugs in a week. At an average of at least 40 percent off what you have been paying her.

Services vary. Some charge for shipping, some don't. You can get automatic refills for up to a year. And prices are in US dollars. This has become a very competitive business with over a billion dollars changing hands across the border last year. I'd suggest that you pick two or three pharmacies from the list below, compare prices, and order.

That's all there is to it. Though certainly not a long-term solution to many older Americans' inability to afford essential medication, this may help some of you as a stopgap.

Is buying in Canada legal?

A reader writes: I read your internet column about buying Canadian prescriptions over the internet by US citizens. Is it legal? Or is it illegal (and just winked at by US law enforcement)?

Frank responds: Congress has twice passed and two presidents have signed legislation designed to make it absolutely legal to reimport drugs from Canada, but both times the cabinet-level Health and human Services secretary concluded the safety and quality of the imported drugs could not be assured. Little surprise with all the money Big Pharma has poured into the Washington, especially to the Bush Administration.

On May 7, 2003, The Canadian government officially said it is responsible for the safety and quality of this large and growing flow of prescription drugs across the border to US consumers.

If you can't trust Canada, who can you trust?

Yet, strictly speaking, Bush has made importation and all its savings illegal, but the US Food and Drug Administration has allowed the mail-order service direct to customers under a "compassionate non-enforcement" policy to help Americans unable to afford the higher-cost medicine at home.

No one has ever been arrested or threatened for importing drugs from our northern neighbor. Millions of Americans are now "breaking the law." I know I am.

Source: RefillPill.com Editors' Choice