There are many pros and cons about purchasing prescription drugs online according to an article written by the National Legislative Association on Prescription Drug Prices. Consumers who are paying high prices for prescription drugs are urged to read this post. There are many things happening online with prescription drug prices. Take a look at how prescription drug prices can be more affordable when purchased online.
Prescription drugs purchased from international pharmacies are generally up to 85% cheaper than the exact same product purchased in the United States. Countries such as New Zealand, Australia, the UK and Israel have all kept prescription drug prices low while prices in the United States have continued to rise year after year.
Rising drug prices in the United States affect mostly name brand drugs that cannot be purchased as generic. Pharmaceutical companies hold the patent on these particular drugs for a set period of time. It is until that patent protection time expires that prescription drugs become available as generic. Abilify was a name brand example that was used in the article by the National Legislative Association on Drug Prices. This particular medication in the United States will cost on average $9,000 more than in other countries. It only makes sense to purchase the exact same product at a cheaper price in another market. This practice is known as arbitrage and used every day to purchase other commodities. It only makes sense to go with the cheaper market if one is cheaper than the other. The internet allows consumers the ability to go to other countries where prices are cheaper and more affordable for the exact same product.
In 2013 the state of Maine made it perfectly legal for anyone to purchase and import prescription drugs from licensed pharmacies in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Legislators in the state of Maine obviously have recognized that licensed pharmacies in foreign countries should have the right to sell within their state. This according to the article allowed people who previously were offered benefits the ability to continue to purchase the same medications at the same prices they were accustomed to when they had their full benefits.
A recent bill being enacted by Congress called the “Personal Prescription Drug Importation Fairness of Act of 2013” will allow United States citizens once and for all the legal right to purchase prescription drugs online from countries with recognized pharmaceutical regulations. Countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom will be allowed to sell their prescription medications online to customers in the United States. This will allow citizens the ability to take advantage of lower cost drugs. Furthermore, the increased competition will force pharmaceutical giants to re think their pricing strategy in the United States, where the same medications cost much more.
The health care reform act of 2013 by the Obama administration is seeking to repeal the prescription drug importation act. Obama is trying to negotiate with the drug manufacturers discounts in return for dropping the drug importation act. He is also seeking support to pass the Obamacare act from these Pharma giants. This unfortunately, is not very good politics. Should congress pass the drug importation act, it will force pharmacy drug makers to become more competitive on a global scale.
Big pharmaceutical companies are also trying to portray the importation of prescription drugs by consumers as being unsafe. However, this is far from the truth. All of these medications are being made in countries where health standards are in perfect par with the United States. It is perfectly safe to purchase the exact same prescription med in countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom and Israel. These countries have the same health standards that we have in the United States and therefore there should be no reason why American consumers cannot purchase safe prescription drugs abroad. Furthermore, there are websites where consumers can go to find safe sources of overseas meds. Sites such as PharmacyChecker.com provide constant updates and feedback from consumers.
Regardless of the current regulatory environment it is estimated that 99% of all prescription drugs purchased abroad are delivered successfully. In addition, there have been very few if any instances of people are being prosecuted for purchasing legal drugs such as Abilify or Zocor abroad. People should not be discouraged from purchasing legal medications in other countries online. Furthermore, according to the article by National Legislative Association on Prescription Drug Prices section 708 of the FDA’s (Food and Drug Administration) Safety and Innovation Act of 2013 requiring that the Secretaries of Health and Human Services and Homeland Security to come up with rules for seizing and destroying personally imported prescriptions with values of less than $2500. It is still perfectly legal to purchase prescription meds for yourself online so long as they are valued at less than $2500.
