Personal Importation of RX Medication

Who Me?

Well-Known Member
CAMPAIGN FOR PERSONAL PRESCRIPTION IMPORTATION

t seems you can’t go more than a few days without seeing a story in the news about drugs prices going up. Affordability is a major problem when it comes to drug prices in the US. Americans pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) the United States spends $1,112/person on prescription drugs vs $787/person in Canada, the next highest per capita spender.

Affordability has a direct influence on how people take their medication. If drug prices are too high, people tend to cut back or not take them at all. That’s a problem. Not taking medications as prescribed has negative consequences. Chronic conditions can get worse and require more invasive medical treatment. A trip to the ER or a surgery down the road will not be cheap.

Unsurprisingly, high drug prices are directly connected to people not taking their medication as prescribed. In fact, 16% of prescriptions are not filled due to cost. If that doesn’t sound significant, bear in mind that not taking prescription drugs as prescribed costs the US $330 billion/year in additional health care costs; that’s not an insignificant amount of money. It does not do any good if someone cannot afford their prescription drugs, it only increases costs down the road. However, there are solutions available.
The most immediate and effective solution is personal importation of prescription drugs from Canada. It would provide relief for many people who, even with insurance, have a difficult time paying for their prescription medication. It would help improve adherence rates and prevent more serious medical problems down the road. This is something Congress needs to deal with. The financial well-being of millions of sick Americans depends on it.



info@personalimportation.org

https://personalimportation.org
 

Who Me?

Well-Known Member
I take it that we cannot personally buy and import drugs from Canada?

Considering that that stat regarding includes I assume every adult in the US - its an amazing number!

If you have an RX you absolutely can buy from Canada. In fact it was my NP who told me she will give me an RX for Rifaxamin to get in Canada (she gave me the name of the place).

There are busses that take seniors who live near the border into Canada to get their rx's filled because it's too damn expensive in the US.

Rifaxamin was $92 for 100. vs about $1500 if you can get your insurance to pay.
 

Cort

Founder of Health Rising and Phoenix Rising
Staff member
If you have an RX you absolutely can buy from Canada. In fact it was my NP who told me she will give me an RX for Rifaxamin to get in Canada (she gave me the name of the place).

There are busses that take seniors who live near the border into Canada to get their rx's filled because it's too damn expensive in the US.

Rifaxamin was $92 for 100. vs about $1500 if you can get your insurance to pay.
Wow....That is good to know....

We should put this in the Resource section... We don't have a how to get drugs cheap in Canada page. We have some other pages

http://www.healthrising.org/forums/resources/categories/supplements-and-medications.180/
 

Who Me?

Well-Known Member
You have to hunt around for the best prices. My NP Told me what pharmacy she uses for Rifaximin but I found one that was half the price

Most docs shouldn't have a problem writing an rx for Canada and I think some pharmacies include a doc writing the rx.

Some are still expensive but compared to what we pay its much cheaper.
 

zzz

Active Member
It is technically against the law to import prescription drugs from any country. But the FDA has made clear that they are not presently enforcing this law, and will allow people to import up to a 90 day supply of prescription drugs for personal use. Scheduled drugs (such as narcotics and benzodiazepines) are not included in this waiver, and will be seized if discovered by Customs.

Even if the FDA changes their policy (which does not seem likely at this time), the worst that can happen is that people's drug shipments will be seized. People don't need to worry about being arrested. Of course, this assumes that you aren't trying to import massive quantities of narcotics for resale... :wacky:

As for Canada, there's even a government-sponsored association known as CIPA - Certified Canadian International Pharmacy. CIPA member pharmacies have to abide by Canadian government regulations and are highly trustworthy. All CIPA pharmacies display the CIPA membership logo. To verify that the use of the logo is genuine, you can check the pharmacy at the CIPA site.

PharmacyChecker.com is a great site for finding CIPA pharmacies and their ratings, and finding which pharmacies carry which drugs. All pharmacies listed here require prescriptions.

In general, I have found the best Canadian pharmacy to be NorthWestPharmacy.com. They have a good selection of drugs, and will price match any other CIPA pharmacy.
 

Cort

Founder of Health Rising and Phoenix Rising
Staff member
It is technically against the law to import prescription drugs from any country. But the FDA has made clear that they are not presently enforcing this law, and will allow people to import up to a 90 day supply of prescription drugs for personal use. Scheduled drugs (such as narcotics and benzodiazepines) are not included in this waiver, and will be seized if discovered by Customs.

Even if the FDA changes their policy (which does not seem likely at this time), the worst that can happen is that people's drug shipments will be seized. People don't need to worry about being arrested. Of course, this assumes that you aren't trying to import massive quantities of narcotics for resale... :wacky:

As for Canada, there's even a government-sponsored association known as CIPA - Certified Canadian International Pharmacy. CIPA member pharmacies have to abide by Canadian government regulations and are highly trustworthy. All CIPA pharmacies display the CIPA membership logo. To verify that the use of the logo is genuine, you can check the pharmacy at the CIPA site.

PharmacyChecker.com is a great site for finding CIPA pharmacies and their ratings, and finding which pharmacies carry which drugs. All pharmacies listed here require prescriptions.

In general, I have found the best Canadian pharmacy to be NorthWestPharmacy.com. They have a good selection of drugs, and will price match any other CIPA pharmacy.
Thanks. This sounds like a really good option. Any and all information is appreciated. I will put this into a Resource. I'm going to build a "How to" section and which will include how to get treated as cheaply as possible including how to get supplements cheaply, how to pay less for prescription drugs.

Canada sounds like a great resource given their high standards.

Do doctors have a write a different prescription for Canada or can you use the same prescription as in the U.S?
 

Cort

Founder of Health Rising and Phoenix Rising
Staff member
I'll come up with a resource and run it by you guys.
 

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