Thousands of dollars a year in savings from safe international online pharmacies
White Plains, New York – April 17, 2012 – Many studies have documented the difficulty Americans face when paying for asthma medications and the resulting increases in emergency room visits and hospitalizations. However, research by PharmacyChecker.com shows that the cost of asthma medication can be reduced significantly – by an average 76% – when Americans buy from safe, licensed pharmacies outside the U.S.
"Americans with asthma often cannot access needed medication because the prices in the United States are too high," according to Tod Cooperman, MD, President of PharmacyChecker.com. "Verified online pharmacies outside the United States are offering the same medication for thousands of dollars less per year, enabling Americans to affordably treat asthma and reduce suffering and hospitalization rates."
PharmacyChecker.com found, for example, that a 3-month supply of the popular asthma product Advair Diskus (fluticasone/propionate and salmeterol inhalation powder) costs $947.97 at a pharmacy in New York City. The same medicine manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline can be obtained for as little at $149.00 from an international online pharmacy listed on PharmacyChecker.com, resulting in an 84% savings, or $3,195 on an annual basis. This and other examples are shown below:
| Drug Prices For 3-Month Supplies of Most Popular Brand Name Asthma Medications | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drug | U.S. Bricks-and-Mortar Pharmacy* | Lowest Pharmacy-Checker.com Listed Price** | Savings Over 3 Months | Percent Savings | Savings Over One Year | ||||||
| Advair Diskus 250-50mcg | $947.97 | $149.00 | $798.97 | 84.28% | $3,195.88 | ||||||
| Flovent HFA 110mcg | $593.97 | $186.00 | $407.97 | 68.69% | $1,631.88 | ||||||
| Singulair 10mg | $626.97 | $110.00 | $516.97 | 82.46% | $2,067.88 | ||||||
| Symbicort 160-4.5mcg | $666.99 | $222.00 | $444.99 | 66.72% | $1,779.96 | ||||||
| Average: | $708.98 | $166.75 | $542.23 | 75.53% | $2,168.9 | ||||||
| *US Bricks and Mortar Pharmacy in New York City; data collected March 23, 2012.
** Prices as shown on www.pharmacychecker.com on March 30th, 2012. |
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A survey sponsored by Kaiser Family Foundation, Harvard School of Public Health, and USA Today in 2005 found that "44% of households" with asthma sufferers "skipped treatment, cut pills or didn't fill prescription due to cost"i – a problem likely to have worsened with the subsequent economic downturn. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1.7 million Americans went to emergency rooms in 2009 due to their asthma conditions.ii The CDC attributed such hospitalizations to low adherence to asthma management strategies, which include taking preventative asthma medication. A study in JAMA last month reported that out-of-pocket costs for medicine were a factor in greater hospitalization rates among children with asthma in the U.S.iii
While personal drug importation remains technically illegal in the U.S., the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said it does not take enforcement actions against individuals who purchase prescriptions internationally for their own use. According to independent studies, such as one recently published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, properly verified online pharmacies, foreign and domestic, such as those verified in the PharmacyChecker Verification Program, are known to sell genuine medication, require a prescription and meet other standards of safe mail-order pharmacy practice.
Founded in 2002 by Tod Cooperman, M.D. to help Americans find the best drug prices from verified online pharmacies, PharmacyChecker.com's pharmacy ratings and drug price comparisons are free to consumers. PharmacyChecker.com, based in New York, is privately held with no ownership in or from companies that sell or distribute pharmacy products.
i"Asthma Patients Struggle With Financial Bills," Anita Manning, USA Today, September 1, 2005. (Accessed 4/17/12 – Link).
iiAsthma Prevalence, Health Care Use, and Mortality: United States, 2005–2009 in National Health Statistics Report, January 20011. (Accessed 4/16/2012 – Link).
iiiKaraca-Mandic P et al. Out-of-pocket medication costs and use of medications and health care services among children with asthma. JAMA 2012 Mar 28; 307:1284. (Accessed 4/17/12 – Link).
