Seniors Log on to Canada for Drugs
With a few clicks of a computer mouse, Bill Schmitt orders diabetes medication from an online Canadian pharmacy and pays about 25 percent less than he would have paid for similar medication in the United States. "I was looking for a way to reduce my expenses because I was having to pay up to $324 on a quarterly basis out of my pocket,'' said the 67-year-old Myrtle Beach resident. "I said, `It's time to do something.''
While S.C. legislators and senior advocates look for ways to alleviate the burden of high prescription drug costs, a growing number of senior citizens are quietly finding their own remedy through online Canadian pharmacies. The Internet is much easier and more convenient than planning a trip out of the country, as many seniors up north have done to get rock-bottom Canadian drug prices, Schmitt said. "It really makes a difference,'' he said. "I will eventually get all my medicines this way.''
Government controls help keep prices low in Canada, and Internet customers also enjoy a favorable exchange rate. Under U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidelines, U.S. residents can import up to three months of medications for personal use. Controlled substances such as pain medication are not allowed to be imported.
Interest in Canadian imports has grown in recent years because of escalating U.S. prescription drug prices. Seniors without prescription drug coverage are hit the hardest and often are the heaviest users of prescription medications. According to AARP, about one-third of the nation's seniors have no prescription drug coverage through their health insurance. As many as 15 million Medicare recipients pay full retail price for their medications, including Schmitt. Schmitt lost his private health insurance coverage, which included prescription drug coverage, shortly after he qualified for Medicare about two years ago. "I ... decided to investigate,'' he said. "You're going to find ways to save money. You just have to look into it and find out what's going on for yourself. "While browsing the Internet, Schmitt found Canadameds.com, among the largest operations in Canada that ship prescriptions to the United States. To order the drugs, Schmitt had to provide the company with his doctor's prescription along with a medical history form and a limited power of attorney giving the company the right to buy and ship the medications. A doctor licensed in Canada reviews the medical history (for a $50 charge) before co-signing the prescription for shipment. Shipments take up to three weeks and there is an $18 charge per package for prescription items. Schmitt said he saves money even after shipping and dispensing fees.
Canadameds.com pharmacist Daren Jorgenson said shipments to the United States have risen during the past year. ``We are averaging about 400 to 600 packages sent out a day which probably have three to four prescriptions in each,'' Jorgenson said. "I think it will continue, too, at even a higher rate than it has because the word is out and many, many other Canadian pharmacies are beginning to offer this service, which benefits the patient through increased choice and competition.
''It took time for Audrey Aldridge of North Myrtle Beach to find an online Canadian pharmacy, but diligence paid off when she found she could save her aunt a significant amount of money on medication to treat her stomach ailment. "It was $5 a pill at the local drug store,'' Aldridge said. "I kept searching the Internet until I found a Canadian pharmacy where I could get the same pill for $1.50. It's really bargain shopping, but it does take time.'' Government price controls are the main reason prescription drugs are cheaper in Europe, Mexico and Canada. The pharmaceutical industry says lowering prices in the United States to international levels would impede research and development.
"Price controls only hurt innovation and result in fewer breakthrough medicines,'' said Meredith Art, spokeswoman for Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association. Dr. Gene Reeder, a pharmacy professor at the University of South Carolina's College of Pharmacy in Columbia, said he doubts pharmaceutical companies would halt research and development. "They may be more selective, but it's hard for me to envision they would stop because that's their lifeline,'' Reeder said.
Price controls aren't the only reason drugs are less expensive outside the United States, according to Surfside Beach pharmacist Sarah Justice. She said high prescription prices are a result of the industry's direct consumer advertising, a multibillion-dollar expense each year for U.S. drug makers. The 10 most heavily advertised drugs have been responsible for 22 percent of the increase in prescription drug spending since 1993, according to the National Institute for Health Care Management. "The reason for those prices is because of the advertising you see on TV,'' Justice said. "We are paying for that.''
Members of the Silver Haired Legislature, a senior advocacy group that lobbies for state legislation, are hopeful a bill presented by Sen. Dick Elliott, D-North Myrtle Beach, will bring some prescription drug relief to S.C. seniors. Bill 186 would require pharmaceutical makers to sell prescription drugs to retail pharmacies at Medicaid discount prices for beneficiaries. "I don't think it will impact local pharmacies in any way, but it will help senior citizens with prescription drugs that Medicare doesn't pay for and clears the hardship for them,'' Elliott said. "We believe this method to cap drug prices won't have a dampening effect on research. "This is a bill that doesn't cost the taxpayers a bit of money; it simply shifts it to the pharmaceutical companies who continue to have an enormous profit spread despite the economy.''
ELAINE GASTON can be reached at 626-0299, 1-800-568-1800, Ext. 299, or
close window