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Subscribe to RSSThe Food and Drug Administration is warning U.S. consumers that the vast majority of Internet pharmacies are fraudulent and likely are selling counterfeit drugs that could harm them.
The agency on Friday launched a national campaign, called BeSafeRx, to alert the public to the danger, amid evidence that more people are shopping for their medicine online, looking for savings and convenience.
Instead, they're likely to get fake drugs that are contaminated, are past their expiration date or contain no active ingredient, the wrong amount of active ingredient or even toxic substances such as arsenic and rat poison. They could sicken or kill people, cause them to develop a resistance to their real medicine, cause new side effects or trigger harmful interactions with other medications being taken.
"Our goal is to increase awareness," FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg told The Associated Press, "not to scare people away from online pharmacies. We want them to use appropriate pharmacies."
That means pharmacies that are located in the U.S., are licensed by the pharmacy board in the patient's state and have a licensed pharmacist available to answer questions. In addition, the pharmacy must require a valid doctor's prescription for the medicine. Online drugstores that claim none is needed, or that the site's doctor can write a prescription after the customer answers some questions, are breaking the law.
Research by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, which represents the state pharmacy boards, found that of thousands of online pharmacies it reviewed, only about 3 percent follow state and federal laws. In fact, the group's website lists only a few dozen Internet pharmacies that it has verified are legitimate and following the rules.
Most consumers don't know that. An Internet survey, conducted by the FDA in May, questioned 6,090 adults. It found that nearly one in four Internet shoppers has bought prescription drugs online, and nearly three in 10 said they weren't confident they could do so safely.
The campaign comes after some high-profile cases of counterfeit drugs reaching American patients earlier this year.
In February and again in April, the FDA warned doctors and cancer clinics around the country that it had determined they had bought fake Avastin, a pricey injectable cancer medicine, from a "gray market" wholesaler. The fake Avastin vials originated in Asia or Eastern Europe and were transferred through a network of shady wholesalers before being sold to clinics by a wholesaler claiming to be in Montana.
In another case, the FDA issued a warning in May after learning consumers shopping on the Internet had bought fake versions of generic Adderall, a popular medication for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
No deaths or serious injuries have been linked to those fakes, but Hamburg notes that when drugs don't help patients get better, doctors usually blame the disease or assume a different medicine is needed. That means most fakes aren't detected.
So the FDA, which has put increasing focus on the counterfeiting problem, on Friday launched a website, www.FDA.gov/BeSafeRx , that shows consumers how to determine if an online pharmacy is safe.
"Buying prescription medicine from a fake online pharmacy can be dangerous, or even deadly," the site warns.
It includes tips on how to spot illegal pharmacies, links to state databases of licensed pharmacies and explanations of all the dangers of rogue pharmacies. Besides likely getting fake drugs, that includes the risk that they will infect your computer with viruses, sell your personal and financial information to other rogue websites and Internet scammers, or charge you for products you never ordered or received.
Many rogue pharmacies claim to be in Canada — because Americans know medicines are cheaper there and assume that's why they're getting a deal. Many fraudulent sites even put the word Canada in their name, or display the Canadian flag prominently on the site. Their web storefronts are slick and look professional. And they all offer prices that are unbelievably low.
"If the low prices seem too good to be true, they probably are,' Hamburg said.
The FDA is collaborating with several other federal agencies and departments and even Interpol in the campaign, Hamburg said, and it has asked medical and pharmaceutical industry groups to join in.
It's also reaching out to doctors, pharmacists and medical facilities to spread the word. They'll get access to materials they can download, from patient fact sheets and discussion guides to sample blog items and web banners for a practice's own website. There's also a list of tips to help doctors determine if a patient may be buying medicine online.
The agency will do a follow-up survey to see if the campaign's message is reaching the public.
"What's truly important to us is that consumers know how to look for an online pharmacy that's legitimate and safe," Hamburg said.
Related stories:
Congressional investigators claim "fake pharmacies" are popping up around the country that purchase drugs in short supply, and then turn around and sell them at higher prices. NBC's senior investigative correspondent Lisa Myers reports.
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Buyer beware.
Come on, what could be wrong with buying your meds from the same spammer, who sells you your penis pills? :)
People are doing this because medications are so expensive here. It makes no sense that the same medication is available so much cheaper just over the border in Canada. The FDA, by blocking the importing of prescription drugs, has given the drug manufacturers a license to rip off the US consumer. The government needs to either lift the ban on importing of medication, with the appropriate controls of course, or start doing something about the blatant price gouging going on here. The current model of allowing the pharmaceutical companies to blatantly rip off the US consumer has got to stop. In many cases, even when we are talking about a medication that is no longer under patent, there is only one or maybe two makers of the generic medication in the US. This leads to blatant price fixing and price gouging of the consumer. Something needs to change!!!
or Gas-X
This is more bull from the FDA that is fed by the big pharm corps in order to get people to stop buying from Canada and other countries that don't rip off the people for their meds. There may be some bogus pharmacies online, but for the most part, people are saving thousands of dollars every year by going to Canada for their medications. If the FDA would get off their money soaked butts and quit taking bribes from companies that allow hundreds of people to be killed by drugs, maybe they would take the time to look out for the people of the USA. How many cases has you heard about in the news of people dying from drugs they got oversease or from Canada? Now how many law suits are filed each year right here by people harmed or killed by the drug companies and the FDA who is paid off to put their crap on the market? Every week there is another law firm on TV talking about some drug that has harmed so many people a law suit is filed. Every time they advertise a drug, there are horrendous side effects that come with it. But the FDA is protecting the big pham companies and then telling people not to go seek out cheaper drugs. Just what do they expect??? No other country in this world allows the prices of drugs to be as high priced as right here. Do the math. My family and thousands of others have saved tens of thousands of dollars getting their meds from Canada and they are EXACTLY the same thing as they sell here for 3 or 4 times the money. Canada has licensed and inspected pharmacies all over the world that they deal with as well. And, guess what? Those foreign lands are getting the same drugs from the same companies that are being sold right here in the good old US of A.
I couldn't have said it better myself. Thanks tiny!
The whole thing kind of sounds like the music downloading war a decade ago. Drug makers have, and fight to preserve their monopolisic right to rip off the American consumer for stuff that is up to 90% cheaper in other countries. (Go price Nexium in Brazil for example.)
In defense of the industry, however, a lot of the cost of U.S. drugs is the built in cost of the inevitable big money liability lawsuits in the event of a problem.
Buying drugs offshore not only saves the consumer money, but reduces the potential feeding frenzy amongst the ambulance chasers which has driven up the cost of doing any sort of business here.
As an earlier reply says, the U.S. should seek to ensure quality, and let free market competition flow to the cheapest quality provider with the same enthusiasm as they let our jobs flow offshore...
Makes perfect sense, reason drugs are expensive in the US is clinical utility + regulatory oversight + development. Drug prices will go down if you start to cut these three legs. But of course nobody wants to do that.
Counterfeit medication is not "FDA bull." People are buying medication online that have not undergone any QA/QC checks, in some cases contain no active ingredient (or wrong dose). This problem has been identified for many years now, and becoming an increasing trend.
Scary how many people are willing to gamble with the safety of their treatments because they think there's some big conspiracy against them....
Please quote one, just one case of where someone bought their meds from a Canadian or other pharmacy online and have suffered some kind of harm from it or found it to be fake. If that were the case, every news station in the country would have put it out there for people to see and not buy from them. But, the reality is, that people are getting the EXACT SAME MEDS as they sell here, only in most cases they are generic and in a lot of cases, the US won't sell the generic because they can get hundreds more for the name brand. There is a reason it is a billion dollar a year business. No wants to take drugs that aren't approved and tested, but even testing is fudged and they allow drugs on the market that are deadly and people right here die every year from them. If it's such an "increasing trend" there would be more news about people getting ripped off and harmed, but not one story has come out regarding this, EXCEPT FROM THE FDA. And, they are not saying what drugs are being faked, what online pharmacies people should avoid or who has been harmed. Wake up, this is funded by the big pharm companies, who by the way, are the very suppliers of those drugs we are getting from other countries.
Dear MMMmmmm,
Recently there was a recall of one of the drugs I use. It was made in India, and it was sold through...wait for it...bricks and mortar U.S. pharmacies. I have been buying ALL of my patented meds through a Canadian online pharmacy for years, as have most of my friends and even my physician's MOTHER. Just because you buy a branded Rx here doesn't mean it isn't made in India or Italy or Canada, like the ones I take. It only means that, on average, it costs 15 percent of the obscene US price. In most cases, I pay less than the co-pay through US insurance, another scam that would likely limit my choices to older off-patent drugs anyway. This system forces some to order higher dose pills and cut them in half to save money, not really that bad. But it would force me to spend over $1000/month for drugs for a few years until I was out of money and then what? Lose my house or let my blood glucose, blood pressure, cholesterol, et al. just go out of control? My doctor changed my diabetes medication last week, to a pill that costs $10/day. The monthly cost of that pill alone represents food, or rent, or a car payment, and unfortunately, that pill is not alone. I need many others.
If you want to know if the the FDA, the US government, the vaunted US pharma companies, or the insurance industry gives a damn for your quality of life, you need look no further than what they all want us to pay for drugs. Thank heaven for Canada.
I'm very happy that so many people are seeing through this BS. The fact of the matter is that equivalent pills are available overseas for pennies on the dollar. It's wouldn't make sense if there WEREN'T a large number of overseas websites trying to make an honest buck by selling these pills to Americans. Mega-Pharma is losing millions to pop-up Indian websites with Canadian flags. It's a win for the American consumer, it's a win for Punjab-the-clever-Indian-Pharmacist, but it's a huge loss for American Pharma. Keep spending those lobby dollars. Americans are too smart to believe the BS in this article. It's too bad American dollars have to wind up overseas because of corporate greed..
Of course the FDA wants you to think that all meds not approved by them are no good. With all the lobbyists running our medical care, their statement is just more of the propaganda they thwart consumers with. It is simply not true. I have been buying everything from antibiotics to my dog's flea and heartworm meds from the UK for years. My dog meds are exactly the same meds that my vet wants to sell me for double the price. I save several hundred dollars a year on just these. The meds I have been ordering for myself for around 10 years are perfectly safe and effective. There is no difference. As with everything, I'm sure there are disreputable pharmacies, but for the most part, all I have dealt with have been wonderful, allowing me to afford care that I could not otherwise afford. Don't believe everything you read, especially when lobbyists are involved.
I have been purchasing my Medications from the same Canadian Pharmacy for 15 years. When the United States Government make the statement that internet Pharmacies are a problem I assume they are refering to the ONES who are not licensed by Canada.
As for the drugs not being legimate that in my case is a bunch of malarky. The drugs from canada come from the same drug manufacturing plants in India wrapped in the same packaging as the US drugs. The same factory is making the drugs and distributing them to foreign and domestic countries. The problem that the United States FDA has is the US company who's patient is about to run out allows the US Company to add something to the formula and call it by a different name and then it becomes a NEW drug. In other cases the US Company enters into an exlusive agreement with the Indian Factory or buys the Factory and charges the same value for the Generic as the Name brand drug.
The FDA does NOT prevent the US Companies for these business practices. The US Companies also keep Generic drugs out of the United States market when they are available from Canada and other overseas Countries.
The FDA seems to be protecting the United States Companies from this Foreign Competition. The Canadian Pharmacies have the same Pharmacy License protection as the United States and their Pharmist are just as qualified as the US Pharmist.
Has any body heard where they bury the dead Canadians who are dying from these Canidian drugs. What a scam by the FDA.
So this would be a valuable service by the government. Shut down each of those sites when you find them.
FDA should be searching for drugs online all the time, and when they find one of these bogus outfits, immediately file with web registrars to shut them down. they are missing the mark sending news releases saying "beware" when they could be sending them saying "we got another 20 slimeballs today."
They have attempted to shut down a perfectly good online pharmacy selling from England that I have been using for 10 years. A pharmacy that's selling me the exact same thing I would pay 4.5 times more in the U.S. The FDA says it is for protecting us that the prices are so high, then why isn't that a problem in other countries? It is the high prices in the U.S. that incites fraud. We are not being protected, we are getting ripped off. Why is this never addressed in political debates?? I guess they want to keep it that way, getting rich on the back of those who need meds. It is the pharmaceutical companies that are being protected, not the consumers.
I bet no Canadians use these sites as their drugs are reasonably priced.
@Robert, I'm an MD and went to med school here. When I need a Rx for myself or for my family I try to get generics, I check out the 4$ generics at Target/Walmart and if I can't find them there I use Costco or Sam's (note: you don't have to be a member to use those warehouses' pharmacies). But when I do need the brand-name Rx we try to buy overseas. When we visit family in Asia, we find brand-name Rx's for about 1/4 to 1/3 the price of the same med here....from reputable pharmacies that have been used by my parent-MD since they were in practice. DH buys his Rx from an online pharmacy in Canada, for about 1/4 the cheapest price we could find here. (yup, we MDs have crappy insurance too, we have BC/Anthem, decent generic copays, 15$, but no real non-generic coverage). So far no problems, and when we've called the pharmacists have been knowledgeable and professional.
Many people use online pharmacies to get meds they shouldn't be trying to get, e.g. narcs, but many, like my family, use them bc they are far cheaper. Shame on Big Pharma for jacking the prices up so high here.
Robert, you are correct, Canadians have no need to purchase drugs online.
Canadians get cheap aspirins, but has to wait until they die for critical surgery.
Dear Road Warrior, that is absolutely false. You obviously know little about the Canadian health system. So, until you actually do, I suggest you shut the hell up.
Road Warrior ... you are full of crap. As a dual citizen of both Canada and the US, I moved back to Canada last year to have access to affordable healthcare, and I'm sure glad I did. You don't know WTF you're talking about, so zip it.
Kudos to Obama for doing something about the retarded system down there, although he didn't go far enough. Healthcare is NOT a privilege in a civilized society and the US system is out of control.
Well said teamdirtdogs. I know I'm going to get ripped off for most of my meds, but at Wal-Mart, Target, etc. you can get $4 generics for certain meds. I had a generic prescription for an anti-inflammatory called Meloxicam. CVS wanted to charge me $25 which is my co-pay & Walmart only wanted $4. CVS lost my business immediately after that. CVS & Walgreen will take you to cleaners if you are not careful.
Here's a link to Walmart's $4 generic list. Not all generics are on this list, but it's worth checking out & hopefully it will save you a buck.
http://i.walmart.com/i/if/hmp/fusion/genericdruglist.pdf
Actually Road Warrior is very much correct, well maybe the "death" part is an exaggeration, but all one has to do is look at median wait times in Canada to see a physician, to have a diagnostic procedure, etc. A few anecdotal stories posted on message boards does not constitute accurate information.
The death part might not be an exaggeration. My brother lives in Nova Scotia and had to go to the emergency room because of chest pains and shortness of breath. He had to wait almost 8 hours to see a physician to find out what was wrong. When he finally got to see the doc and found out he was having angina pains, which they found out later was blocked artistes, he asked why it took so long seeing him and that if he actually had a heart attack could have died. The doc just told him he had to wait his turn just like everyone else. There were people he said waiting because they had a cut on their finger or a cold. Here in the states your would have more the likely been rushed right in if you said you were having chest pains.
T Melora, we have to break it to you, but this could easily happen here in the United States ... now here it is customary to see a patient quickly who exhibits chest pains ... but even for serious issues the wait can still be that long. People can and do die waiting to be seen in Emergency Rooms right here at home ...
I am tired of the amount of sales calls I now get on my cell phone for pharmaceuticals. Not even sure where that comes from, I don't get junk calls on that phone for anything else, just drugs. Annoying.
The reason most people are going to the web is because medicine is to darned expensive here is the states and the feds refuse to do anything to the big pharmaceutical company's. The FDA is a big joke to most people.
IKEY.
This article is an example of the problem with FDA. Why are they making a big deal out of informing the public that Pharmacies are not what they represent.
Just arrest the people behind the LIE and the problem is solved. That is the Job of the FDA why don't they stop the practice of illegal sales by US on line Pharmacies.
If the FDA wasn't in the back pocket of the drug companies, I might care.
I lost a dear friend a few days ago because she was buying drugs from wedsites. Just did not want to listen to me R.I.P.my Dear friend.
I am sure that brick and mortar pharma companies must submit an application to be recognized as a legitimate pharma company. They must then get tested and approved on a regular basis afterwards. How about the FDA make a similar process of companies trying to sell online in the United States. Make these companies file an application and for the company the pay for any necessary expense the FDA has in reviewing the company. Then publish a list of approved "Websites". Then if we want to go online and shop for cheaper drugs we can go to the FDA website and use a link to a reputable site.
there is a registration program for legit sites. you pass it, you get to use the VIPPS logo. but since slimeballs can copy and paste that off the real sites, at this point, you need to verify that the Verified Internet Pharmacy really is.
Guess you missed it; in this article there is a website for approved online pharmacies.
www.FDA.gov/BeSafeRx
Earlier this year there was a huge hulabalu about shortages of some American drugs. The drug producers blamed the overseas suppliers of ingredients used to produce the shorted drug ingredients. Makes you wonder if we are all using deficient overseas drugs, one way or the other.
no way to tell, many of the "suppliers" are brokers of raw materials. back when we had a lot of heparin issues a couple years ago, much of the supply was little sloppy farmers in China squeezing the stuff out of hog intestines and brushing away the flies. you get the cheapest inputs you can find, you will have issues, guaranteed.
If prescriptions were affordable then people wouldn't use the internet to get drugs out of this country. Just last week my son was prescribed an allergy medicine. When I went to fill it they said that will be $55 and I almost paid it because I have a $2500 deductible before insurance kicks in for prescriptions. However, then I said lets just run it on my insurance so it gets counted towards the deductible because we plan on having his tonsils and adnoids out yet this year so we will hit the deductible anyway. Well, once they ran it through the insurance of B/C, guess what it was only $22. So you see if you don't have insurance you pay $55 for the same thing that has insurance which has a sweet heart deal with the pharmacy at many retailers and only then charge $22. The insurance paid zero ($0), so you explain to me who is getting gouged. It is every person without insurance and it is totally unethical and a fraud against insurance companies and pharmaceuticals when this happens. They are in bed together and work sweet heart deals on those Caribean Islands on our dime. Our country is pathetic in ranking for healthcare costs, prescription costs, insurance costs, etc... and that is why Obama at least has a plan because he knows all this is going on behind consumers backs. With the GOP, there is no plan except throwing the public to the wolves of these already gouging companies. The FDA, is a joke for protecting consumers for drugs. Just look at all the drugs every year that are pulled from the market after killing patients, or making thousands of others with very bad side effects that can cause serious injury or death. Drugs are nothing more than chemicals put together in a lab and then labeled safe for consumers. The majority of medicines prescribed are not needed, and the patient would be better off using natural cures or nothing and excepting their fate of dying like before drugs. The FDA is only protecting the drug companies because sales are down because people are no longer getting prescriptions filled or are not even going to the doctor because of the high costs. Go ahead people argue that one.
Don't need to "argue" with you.. I've been a pharmacist for 35 years and can tell you that you have no idea what you are talking about and have no idea how the industry works... Please describe for me what a "natural cure" is...
Please tell us which parts you say JoAnn has no idea about...? I'm not saying you are right or wrong, but I would love to see your perspective instead of you saying she is wrong and that is it. And yes, the public in the US does get gouged from several sides, so that part isn't wrong. But really...tell us how insurance companies aren't gouging us...I would love to know that.
Ikey got it right. The reason Americans go to the web is because they can't afford the astronomical prices of drugs in this country. I was given a perscription by a dermatologist and when I went to fill it I found out it cost $200 using my insurance. I asked the doctor for something else and the new perscription cost $12. The difference? One was a foam the other a liquid. Why would there be such a difference in price for the same medication? You tell me.
The bigger question why didn't your doctor inform you of a choice. Perhaps that visiting salewoman for the $200 medication was doing her job a little better.
you have to cover the cost of developing the drugs, but c'mon. Byetta at the pharmacy window... $511 for the pen unit. my insurance won't cover the vial and separate needles stuff, too costly. but copay for the covered unit is $25 for that $511 package. there's a lot of grey in the middle of the black and white there, and the mail order outfit our insurance forces us to go to is making a killing.
There is no vial of Byetta....or anything likeit..
Perhaps sw is referring to the pen unit as the vial? It does contain the medication within it as a vial would. Looks like a type of vial to me...I mean I can see why someone would refer to that part that way.
What if Americans are learning from Romney, the GOP presidential nominee, then they shift the saving accounts to oversea banking.
Then, the result will be more cutting of the services/programs of our government, e.g. FDA. This online news article has come from a complete assignment of some staff from FDA, after they diligently did their assignment; and they have made their recommendation/report to the public, to warn the public. And these kinds of services are very vital for the public safety.
And, if more Americans have avoided to pay tax, then the public safety may be at risk as a result of their actions.
Go OBAMA 2012.
take your time and try it again. this entry is illegible. you're trying to go somewhere political, but the point is lost.
Or maybe it is because the US govt cannot profit from it or monitor it. Sort of like state govts involved, condoning, and owning casios. Gambling was considered a sin and a scurge....until they started taxing it. Then, all the issues were willfully ignored.
And for monitoring, yes, they do. All the states have prescription drug reporting laws that report what prescriptions you have and when you fill and refill it. So much for the medical privacy laws.
the government has been outlawed from profiting from it... because the Congresscritters already are.
It isn't just an issue of buying less expensive drugs. A lot of people are self-prescribing because they can't afford the initial visit with a doctor (and all the subsequent follow-up visits) so they don't have a prescription to take into a legitimate pharmacy. Until this country sheds its third-world mentality and starts offering health care for its citizens, some people will have to buy online from very iffy sources because it's their only option.
For most drugs, you still need a prescription. And you should. Anyone selling you a prescription-required drug without any oversight will have a higher chance of being fraudulent. Your doctor can still write you a prescription, and then you email it to the mail order place. Try Canada. Easy to check them out online like anything.
@ Steve
Dude... I never said that I, personally, buy medication online. When you say that a doctor can still write a person (me) a prescription and they (I) can use it to buy drugs online just shows me that you seriously did not read my comment. You certainly didn't comprehend it. My point, which you missed entirely, is that many people cannot afford to see a doctor in order to get a prescription for the medication they know they need. Possibly a medication they previously had a prescription for but which expired when they could no longer afford to see the doctor. These will often be people who know very well that they could be ripped off or given questionable drugs, but they take the chance anyway because they feel they have to. Such is the pathetic nature of our health care system or utter lack of one.
Yeah, this isn't the FDA complaining (well...yes it is) about having your script faxed to online pharms that sell cheaper drugs. There is a GREAT one located in Ohio, they sell really cheap RXs, just have your doctor fax them. They are talking about the ones overseas that charge like 100.00 for 20 "Vicodin" tabs that you don't need a prescription for. Now, a lot of the times, these are real sites, but sometimes, you're getting expired antiobiotics and some people overseas are spending your cash, laughing at you.
Then, your stuff can get confiscated at customs and whooops, outa money and maybe in hot water. Just remember if your stuff gets seized, deny deny deny and don't sign a thing! Let em keep it.
I'm ALOT more worried about the FDA than I am about online pharmacies. Most of these online pharmacies don't have big pharma companies in their hip pockets.
The online pharmacies are just fine. The doctors are angry because they are missing out on the profits from you having to visit them to get a prescription. It's just like buying heartworm medication for your dog. You have to pay the doctor for the office visit as well as the triple price of the meds. I don't know how many times I had to wait for a doctor's appointment to get a prescription for my gout flare-ups. By the time I got the appointment, the pain is already gone, not to mention the $150 office visit each time.
Bing Cherries and lots of them. There is a natural enzyme in them (quercitin) that removes the uric acid build-up.
Think about this logically.. If an online pharmacy is selling a drug for 1/10 what CVS (with their 7,000 stores) can buy it for, what do you think that means? Why would the manufacturer sell to online rx for less than CVS pays ?
Some online pharmacies are legitimate. Some aren't, and all it takes is one bad dose to kill or harm you or your kids. If you have to get meds online, please get them from a real pharmacy and not some fly by night bunch who puts aspirin, flour, sugar, or who knows what toxic stuff in it and sells it to you without caring what happens to you.
I recently switched jobs, and am currently without insurance (until late November). In the meantime, a daily medication I need costs $277/mo out-of-pocket. There's just no way I can pay that amount. Fingers crossed that the Canadian on-line pharmacy I researched and can get the same pills for 100 for <$200 isn't a scam, and ships my prescription quickly - I'm currently rationing my last few pills in half-doses. It seems like companies should either be required to offer insurance faster than the 90-day waiting period, or the 1st 90 days you COBRA your old insurance should be offered at a discounted rate (the cost to COBRA my old BC/BS insurance was $432/mo!).
We've used Canadian online pharmacy services for years. Check them out first! Your doctor can write you a prescription or they can fax or email the prescription in just like an American Pharmacy. The costs are so shockingly less than American pharmacies, you will not believe it. The only drawback is time between them receiving the prescription and you receiving the medication. They have to check your doctor out, find a drug company with the medication YOU need, and drugs are usually shipped from that company to save money. Often, for us, it's from Germany. You know, like a BMW instead of a Chevy.
Try NorthWest Pharmacy... have used them for years and they are a legitimate option.
This actually looks like the FDA is trying to make sure that our money stays in their hands. The legitimacy of these pharmacies is questioned when people have a reason to fear them, like everything else the media and government wants you to think.
I was diagnosed with HIV two years ago. My insurance will not cover me for my meds because it's a pre-existing condition. The company that makes my meds charges $1200 for a 30 day supply. That's just one type of the meds, others are upwards of $2000 USD a month. If I go more than 24 hours without the meds, I can become immune to them that quickly. So I use online pharmacies. I pay $100 USD for them now for a 30 day supply. The FDA, the insurance companies, the doctors and the pharmaceutical companies are out there to rob you blind! If I was to follow the life the FDA wants me to, I'd be broke and dead. That simple $100 a month gives me an extra 40 years of life and my doctor says I'm doing just fine and should live to be as old as any other person who is HIV negative.
the money in their hands and the heavy metals in our bodies. They can kiss my arse.
Wow. That pretty much says it all. Glad that you had the resourcefulness to find an alternative way to get your meds and live a long healthy life.
Of Course the FDA doesnt you want you buying other drugs, only their drugs with the mercury and other metals in it. Dont listen to this corrupt agency. Do what FEELS best for you.
Maybe the FDA should warn the "legitimate" pharmacies that their prices are too damn high and they ought to back off before they go out of business.
What other internet business has not been accused of everything under the sun until they give up? FDA: You are there to protect the consumer, not the drug companies. Walgreens, etc. can market online, and they better get to it before they go broke.
Congress has specifically prevented the government from setting prices. talk to them. tell your Congresscritter to return the campaign contributions from Big Pharma and serve their electors instead.
How about some facts, people: 1) You need to use common sense. Do people really need to be told to be careful of what they put into their bodies?
2) It was the Republicans that so adamantly defended the pharmaceutical companies from competition; anything else you morons say is just plain false.
3) If your health plan and doctors don't tell you the choices of generic vs. brand, get a new doctor or plan. Remember, the Righties like this system because it's so good for corporations.
4) The Surgeon General has stated several times that one-half of the prescriptions Americans consume have no long term benefit on their health. So, why keep taking it?
What we need is a Universal Health Care System which includes the rid of insurance companies and profiteering pharmaceuticals. Your not a patient, your a client. That's what you get when you mix capitalism with health. Remember, insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies exist to make money, not help you. Wake up, people.
TRUTH !
Obviously there are a lot of people that are seeking out these online pharmacies in order to not have to pay such exhoribant Rx prices. Really, if the feds are so dang concerned about how dangerous this is, then open up the distribution channels so we can purchase legitimate drugs from anywhere we want. The mere fact that people are willing to take such a risk should be a clear sign that the pricing structure is out of whack in America. If the FDA wants to curb so called poisons and deaths then they better find a way to legitimize online pharmacies and let people have free access to meds. It's the same drug whether it's on a pharmacy shelf in Mexico, Canada or India. FDA has made a pretty extreme claim here as well and I would like to see the actual statistics on the number of Americans who have been poisoned with rat poison or other toxins and who have also died from purchasing their meds from online pharmacies. If they don't have any concrete data, then as usual, the feds are using obnoxious fear tactics to keep citizens from seeking out better ways of affording their medical costs.
There needs to be a law that states that no agency can make a claim in any type of media outlet without citing their sources and providing links to the data. If you know of anyone who has died from arsenic poisoning after ordering Rx's online, please post that information.
Well some of you will be out of luck if Romney gets elected. Remember, your on your own under his belief. The reason he thinks that way is simple: He has never gone wanting for anything in his life. Here is a man that has a personal physician, telling the rest of us pour slobs he understands what we need. If you really want accountability from health care and pharmaceudical companies, your only choice are Democrats. Remember, when Health Care Reform implementation is complete, the vast majority of health care income must actually go to health care, not insurance companies. Okay Righties, start in about how that bad. I'm used to your rhetoric.
I'm better off on my own instead of wishing for fairy dust and unicorns from big brother. Read my post below. I decide to use an on-line pharmacy, I pay for the full cost of my meds which is cheaper than buying them here AND it saves my insurance company money. It's called personal responsibility, try it, you may like it.
What's to say John? We're used to your biased leftist beliefs as well. Only a fool would think that Obamacare comes at no cost to the masses. Get ready for the largest tax (according to the Supreme Court) increase in history if Obamacare stands. Maybe you don't care because you are one of the 47% that doesn't pay income tax?
What a lot of you need is a drug for paranoia. The FDA is the entity that is trying to protect you. Your fears of everything governmental is nothing short of brain-washing and fear tactics. Get a grip.
Also, I would assume, that I'm not the only one consuming these pills. They're also dispensed to people of the country they're coming from. And since everyone, according to the leftwingers, has better healthcare than the U.S., they are more than likely not fake or poisonous pills.
I call BS on the FDA. I have purchased online from a Canadian pharmacy for 4 years and haven't had a problem and the pills work. For what I pay for the whole presription is about 1/4 the total cost in the U.S. On one monthly prescription, if purchased locally, I pay a $60 copay and the insurance pays an additional $120. Buying it online costs me $45 per month for the whole prescription! On my other prescription my insurance company won't cover it unless I tried all the other medications on the same list. My Dr. said he wouldn't prescribe some of them due to either having steroids or they can build up and I would need periodic tests to check that. Buying that prescription in the U.S. w/o insurance covering it is about $3/pill through the Canadian pharmacy it's $0.65/pill. Too bad Obama didn't go after the real problem, stopping us, the U.S., from subsidizing the whole world's cheap medicine. Of course Obamacare was written by big pharma and the AARP so I guess what else could we expect from our dear leader.
Do you really believe that the cost of drugs has been high only since obama has been in office? It's been decades... It's not politics, it's corporate greed, and the party in charge mattters not.. the drug lobby rules both rules both sides of the isle...The FDA is NOT the problem.. They need revamping, but they get a bad rap.
alan, one thing I know for sure is that my healthcare insurance has increased 85% in monthly cost since I voted for Obama in '08 (4-years). In the previous 8-years, it had increased 75%. Sounds like our deficit doesn't it? Obama called Bush unpatriotic for increasing the deficit by 4-trillion over 8-years and then he went on to increase our deficit by more than 4-trillion in just 4-years. In other words, Obama is twice as bad as Bush regarding the cost of healthcare insurance and increasing our deficit. How this clown, who I voted for, can possibly be ahead in the polls is beyond comprehension.
Well said, alan.
Alan,
I didn't say that he caused it. But Obamacare surely didn't and won't fix it. And no, it's not corporate greed, I'm so sick of that line. The U.S. is subsidizing the rest of the world's cheap prescriptions.