December 24, 2016 – America has always been known as “The Land of Opportunity.” New data shows that this is especially true for drug makers internationally.
Large PBMs, such as CVS Caremark and Express Scripts are dropping lots of medications from their formularies in 2017. Industry analysts at Pharmacy Checker Blog looked at 15 brand name medications that will no longer be available on some PBM formularies in 2017 and found that the maximum savings average is 74% if one were to purchase the same drug from an international online pharmacy.
Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, most Americans have insurance, about 90%, which is a record high. But just because you’re insured doesn’t mean you can afford medication. According to Kaiser Family Foundation data, about 41% of underinsured Americans between 18-64 don’t fill a prescription because of cost. That’s about 16.5 million people. (WOW)
Take Crestor, a well-known (and oft-prescribed) cholesterol drug. The lowest cost international online pharmacy as verified by Pharmacy Checker is 29 cents a pill or $26 for a 90-day supply, as dispensed from Turkey. If you prefer to buy it from Canada, it will cost a low of about $2.85 per pill, much more than Turkey but still almost 60% less than in the U.S. (WOW)
For many of the drugs that PMBs are refusing to list, the generic may be available at lower cost. But not with Crestor and other popular name-brands. The generic of Crestor, Rosuvastatin, can be purchased at your local pharmacy, with the lowest prices ranging from $35-50 for a 3-month supply, which is more (but still comparable) to the lowest international, online cost of brand-name Crestor.
Go figure ($$$)
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