The law and canadian mail-order meds (long read—but impiortant …)
 

Recognizing what will become unpopular drug pricing, the coverage gap (‘donut hole’), and yet another mandated monthly bill, the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan as developed by the powers-that-were in 2003 that would go into effect in 2006, those powers passed laws making it illegal for seniors to purchase prescription drugs anywhere other than from the US insurance and pharmaceutical industries, who appeared then—and continue to appear now—to reflect the effectiveness of their respective lobbies.

In spite of the laws, entrepreneurs in Canada saw an opportunity to create mail order pharmacies. They investigated the laws and their viability of effectiveness and realized that such pharmacies could serve them as a livelihood and serve those in the US whose prescription prices are higher—often considerably higher—than those in Canada.

How is this possible? Though the Canadian federal government has nothing to do with administering health care, they do mandate that pharmaceutical companies must negotiate prices if their products are to be used anywhere in Canada. (A novel and supportive approach, eh?) That is, they are looking out for their residents. The US government effectively gave carte blanche to the pharmaceutical and insurance industries to charge whatever they want. (Remember the Epi-pen?)

A senior might choose a Plan because it covers specific meds; however, the insurance companies have the freedom to change anything they wish, including their formulary (the list of drugs they cover), anytime in the course of the year other than the amount of the monthly premium, whereas subscribers cannot make a change other than during the open enrollment period at the end of the year, to select a different Plan for the following year.

Some of our generic meds have co-pays of $0 to $2, at times a bit higher. When we are prescribed an exorbitantly priced generic drug under our Plan, now we know to follow this sequence: (1) find out what our out-of-pocket cost will be, (2) ask the local pharmacy’s cash price, (3) check with Costco Mail Order Pharmacy at www.costco.com (among the lowest cash prices for some meds), and finally (4) go online to Drug Price Comparisons, Online Pharmacy Safety and Coupon Savings | PharmacyChecker.com, enter the name of the drug, and click ‘Search.’ The result clearly gives the range of the per unit price of the drug at their member pharmacies. The range looks huge, considering it’s all the same med, but the lowest priced ones, even taking into account a $10 shipping charge by some pharmacies, is considerably lower than that in the US. Controlled substances may not be ordered from out of the US.

Here’s an example: On my other thread (see MEDICARE PART D PRESCRIP. DRUG PLAN USERS: YOUR INS. CO. IS PROFITING ON YOUR BACKS!!’) I described my shock at discovering—using one of my own meds as an example (Rosuvastatin)—that for a three-month supply my Medicare Part D Plan would charge me $141, while the cash price (no insurance) at the local pharmacy was little more than ONE-THIRD the Insurance price at $51. At the Canadian mail order pharmacy I used, the cost, including shipping, was $26, half of the local pharmacy’s cash price, and at the Canadian mail order pharmacy the cost being a lot less ($26 versus $141) than through my Part D Plan. Remember, these are identical meds....

Pharmacy Checker’s website contains info about the laws that had attempted to force Americans to pay often exorbitant prices particularly for generic drugs. I asked for clarification on several points and received the following from Lucia Mueller, Director of Communications, PharmacyChecker.com:

“It's not legal, under most circumstances, to order and import medicine from a pharmacy in another country, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“FDA personnel have continuously stated that no one is prosecuted for personal importation of medicine, but that doesn't mean it's expressly legal. The FDA has published their personal importation policy explaining that they may allow personal imports of drugs that the FDA has not approved under certain circumstances. [Emphasis in original.]

“However, millions of Americans order and import lower-cost medicines to fill prescriptions from pharmacies located in Canada and other countries because they are never prosecuted for doing so.

“Read more here: https://www.pharmacychecker.com/askp...ntries/“Also, you should know that we are transparent in the fact that pharmacies we accredit are located across the globe, not just Canada. You can see dispensing pharmacy located here: https://www.pharmacychecker.com/onli...cy-ratings/”

What do you hope will happen???

Just as the poster states that she has to be herself, I must also be myself. I am part of a large international extended family scattered throughout the globe, many but not all in First World countries—Canada, Costa Rica, Argentina, England, Sweden, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, Japan, Australia, even Kenya for a period of time, and of course the US—and we all know each other! My immediate family are from New York and Montreal; hence I am a dual citizen.

Most of the countries where my family lived and continue to live recognize that the public health of their nations is related directly to the personal health of its residents in much the same way, analogously speaking, when it comes to universal public education and the economic success of their nations. So, what I would like to see in the US is the same recognition that a society is healthier when its residents have access to universal health care—as my international family members thus themselves are healthier and consequently better able to accomplish the goals of a successful nation as wekk as their personal goals..

When I first lived in TV, I met a woman from New Jersey who was bemoaning how difficult the Thanksgiving holiday is, having one cousin in Boston, one somewhere in Ohio, one in a suburb of Washington DC, and one more somewhere else in the Northeast. When I responded with how impossible it would be to get ALL of my family together at one time in one place, rattling off some of the countries where they live, she looked confused, and when I asked her if something I’d said wasn’t clear, she said she couldn’t understand “Why did they all move so far away?” How could I explain to someone of her mindset that my European family are all within a relatively short distance of where they were born, whereas I'm the 'DP' (displaced person)!

Further conversation made it clear that this person’s WORLDVIEW is “from Atlantic to Pacific, and from the border with the ‘51st state’ to ‘build the wall’.” But Manifest Destiny is over two centuries old; the Monroe Doctrine, essentially isolationist legislation, is nearly that old and barely if at all relevant in today’s world. Yet how many Americans share the same worldview as the woman from New Jersey? I'm answering the question honestly, but this response might be difficult for some to comprehend....

Have you used Pharmacy Checker discounts and are they really accepted?

The importation of prescription medications has been illegal since well before the enactment of Medicare Part D. President Ronald Reagan signed the most significant piece of legislation prohibiting such importation in 1988, this was the Prescription Drug Marketing Act.

In fact, contrary to your claim, the Medicare Part D act specifically gave the Secretary of Health and Human Services the power to allow the importation of drugs from Canada, if the Secretary could certify the imports would both 1) pose no additional risk to public health and safety, and 2) generate cost-savings for American consumers. But no secretary has been either able or willing to do so. If you want to look it up..
Subtitle C: Importation of Prescription Drugs - (Sec. 1121)

I stand corrected—thank you—that it was during the administration of President Reagan that laws were passed essentially requiring Americans to buy prescription drugs ONLY within the US. I believe these laws were addressed again during the administration of President Bush that results in Americans paying among the highest prices for prescriptions. I am a dual citizen US-Canada, and I can assure you that when we are in Canada, granted I am generalizing with round numbers, but when we spend $1,000 on Prescription drugs there, we do so knowing it would have otherwise cost us $3,000 at home.

I did point out that the Canadian pharmacies point out that buying from them is not fully legal but that US authorities have pointed out time and again that they will not go after Americans who fill only prescriptions for themselves, that is, not go into business.

I am not surprised at what you point out—that no Secretary has ever officially said that importation could benefit Americans. For people who think our country is governed by elected officials or the federal bureaucracies, there is a bridge in Brooklyn I would like to sell them.... The pharmaceutical and insurance industries have substantial lobbying budgets, I would suspect....

Do you have to pay an import duty for drugs imported from Canada into USA.?
I ask, as our youngest daughter imports a thyroid medication unavailable in UK from US. She has to pay a large handling and import duty charge on its arrival.
Whilst my wife and I are in US we could get a few months worth of medication from Canada to take home with us, avoiding import duty.
Sounds silly, but the US company she buys from, is not allowed to sell the medication in the USA. It originates in New Zealand.
The pharmaceutical companies have managed to get this natural and for many years, the only treatment discontinued in many countries in favour of their synthetic replacement, ($$$$$) which was and is, ineffective with our daughter.
The one she uses is the only thing that works and gives her a normal standard of life.

Please check; I just sent you a PM.

Delivered to your door from the same manufacturer, in the same quality and packaging but for 50-75% less $$$.....no problem...a no brainer!!

An illegal entry if there is no enforcement? Words on paper for political satisfaction.

agree - have done it many times

For some reason I do not seem to get PM.s.
I replied to you through PM's but have not seen a notification of arrival.