Cheaper Prescriptions Available North of Border
Although buying prescriptions from another country is somewhat controversial, it is legal and the drugs are much more affordable.
Log onto canadameds.com or crossborderpharmacy.com and there's a good chance you'll never walk into a U.S. pharmacy again -- at least not to buy prescription drugs. These Canadian Websites offer prescription drugs at a discount of anywhere between 30 percent to 85 percent.
"I figure I save about $100 a month," said Shirley, who lives in Summerlin's Sun City. She's been saving money for some time now by just logging onto the Internet pharmacies.
"Those of us who are elderly seniors and retired we need to save our dollars, and if there's a service out there, I think we should go for it," she said.
There is more to it, of course, than just having a computer. Customers must fill out a detailed questionnaire, which is reviewed by a Canadian physician.
"I think the American consumer should feel comfortable with the quality if the pharmacy industry in Canada. We're not dealing with a third world or second world country," said Daren Jorgensen of canadameds.com.
Instead, consumers are dealing with a country that controls its drug prices unlike the United States. That allows the Canadian pharmacies to sell brand-name drugs at far less than the U.S. price.
For example, look at the price of Lipitor, the popular cholesterol drug. Thirty tablets from canadameds.com will cost you $50.06 and $52.16 at crossborderpharmacy.com, but at U.S. site drugstore.com it's $84.43, and at walgreens.com it's $93.99. Other drugs like Celebrex and Tamoxifen also cost considerably less.
"I believe, though, it's because the FDA in the United States has a better check and balance. It takes longer to go to market in the United States, and it just makes it more costly for the manufacturers to do their research and development," said Scot Silber of Green Valley Drugs.
Drugs sold north of the border are regulated by Health Canada, the U.S. equivalent of the FDA Many of them are also manufactured in the United States. But buying them after they've gone to Canada allows consumers like Shirley to save big money -- as long as you don't mind the labels on the bottles to be printed in French.
You can order up to a three-month supply, and each shipment takes about two to three weeks. Each order comes with a shipping fee of $10 to $20.
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