When American women without prescription drug health insurance go to fill their birth control prescriptions for Ortho Tri-Cyclen, they stop by their local pharmacy and fork over $34.99.
At a Canadian pharmacy, that same pack would cost them only $15.41, because local Canadian governments negotiate lower prices with drug companies.
Seniors have long taken advantage of this little Canadian secret. But people in their 20s and 30s, especially those who lack health insurance for prescription drugs and who use long-term prescriptions such as birth control pills, also can save hundreds of dollars by buying their drugs in Canada.
Although the government warns that foreign drugs may be counterfeit or unsafe, most experts agree that certain Canadian sources are as safe as the local Osco Drug. In fact, border-crossing drug trips are increasingly accepted as a way of life.
Even Gov. Rod Blagojevich is looking north in an attempt to save money: He had vowed to lobby Washington to remove restrictions that bar Illinois residents from buying low-cost drugs from Canada. He went to Washington last week and was rebuffed by the Food and Drug Administration, but his stance has invigorated debate on the issue.
Congressman Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) is lobbying for legalization of re-importation from 25 countries, including Canada. Drug manufacturers discourage re-importation, which eats into their profits.
Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, which produces Prozac, has publicly argued that the loss of profits would reduce drug companies’ ability to research and create new drugs.
The FDA also warns that the so-called “re-imported” drugs are at risk for being contaminated. In June, William Hubbard of the FDA told Congress that the FDA cannot confirm the safety of drugs from foreign pharmacies.
He added that some Web sites claiming to be Canadian pharmacies are actually based elsewhere. The FDA is investigating about 100 online pharmacies for illegally importing drugs, but it has not focused its enforcement efforts on individuals who buy their drugs from Canada.
“When you’re shopping over the Internet for anything, caution is a good idea,” says Cheryl Rivers, executive director of the National Legislative Association on Prescription Drug Prices, a Stockbridge, Vt.-based non-profit group that advocates fair drug prices for consumers.
Still, many experts say that certain Web sites–such as unitedhealthalliance.com–connect U.S. consumers to trustworthy Canadian pharmacies. That Web site allows consumers to search for the best price at four different Canadian pharmacies. Consumers can then call in their prescription.
Pharmacychecker.com provides an easy-to-read chart with the highest and lowest prices of drugs in the United States and Canada, but consumers have to pay $24 a year to subscribe. Savings of $50 or more per prescription can quickly make the investment worthwhile.
Web sites put the power of choice back in consumers’ hands. One woman, a 68-year-old from New England, who asked to remain unnamed, decided she was tired of paying $2,600 a year for her cholesterol and acid reflux medicine. She saw an article in her local paper about a Canadian pharmacy with cheaper prices, and she called in her prescription. Three weeks later, she had her new pills at almost half the price.
The only problem, she said, was the time lag. “I often am down to the last pill, and I call them and then I have to wait,” she says. As a result, consumers with acute illnesses requiring quick medication, such as antibiotics for a sore throat, can’t usually afford to shop around at Canadian pharmacies.
But for long-term issues, such as birth control, hopping the border might be just what the doctor ordered.
If the drugs are available, that is.
Some consumers complain that new drugs are sometimes hard to find at Canadian pharmacies.
Yasmin, for example, one of the newest birth control pills that’s popular among many women for its lower estrogen dosage, wasn’t available at the Canadian pharmacies tracked by unitedhealthalliance.com.
Still, Canada has plenty of cheap alternatives for people staggering under the cost of their prescription drugs, including some that can make the whole process more enjoyable.
At drugstore.com, a U.S. pharmacy, consumers pay $2.20 per pill for the anti-anxiety drug Zoloft; Canadians pay less than $1.50 per pill.–
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Edited by Lara Weber (lweber@tribune.com) and Drew Sottardi (dsottardi@tribune.com), George Thompson/tribune.
