OPINION

MIKE MASTERSON: Readers respond

The cost of drugs

I sure struck a major nerve the other day with my column about how much lower prescription prices run in Canada than here in the U.S.

Here's a lightly edited smattering of your voices.

From Mike: "I have two personal Canadian Rx stories ... I had mothball-sized blood clots in both lungs (diving in Belize) and was under the Symbicort low-income program and got the inhalators about three years for free. A ... new CEO eliminated that program, and my cost became $337/month, period. Out of desperation I Googled Canada Rx and got the same ingredient-named inhalator and a three-month supply (from India) for $113, including shipping.

"I started taking a 'smart brain pill' (I'm 75) late last year at $4 per month, and Jan. 1, my insurance jumped it to $76/month, so I called and talked to their CanRx [customer service representative], and the quote for a three-month supply was $118. I declined because that was still too high for my budget.

"The next day, she called me back saying supervisor countered with a three-month supply of $54 and free shipping. Can you imagine any pharmacy in the U.S. calling me back and doing that? Math-wise, three months' U.S. supply is $1,341 versus Canada's $167. What an outrage, exact same stuff. This really chaps my hide!"

Can't say as I blame you, Mike. It gives me a bout of painful gas just hearing your story.

Subscriber Larry wrote that he was "wondering if the U.S.-Canadian drug price comparison took into account the difference in the U.S. and CD [Canadian] dollar. Today $1 USD equals $1.32 CD. So if not, the price differential is even greater than it first appears. Which makes me think there must be much money to be made smuggling Canadian-purchased drugs into the U.S. and selling them on the black market, just as cigarettes in [New York City] are smuggled from [North Carolina] with the profit taken from the huge tax differential. If this drug smuggling is not going on, I suggest you and I get into that business as soon as possible. "

Hmmm, it's a thought, Larry. Beats a part-time job at Wal-Mart I've been contemplating of late.

Sanford wrote, "Your column ... hit on one of my biggest complaints: how Big Pharma is bilking all of us out of billions of dollars in inflated drug prices and driving up the cost of health care. The lack of curbs on them comes from the fact that they own all of our legislators, who take their big bucks in exchange for letting them charge whatever they want. Their greed is unbelievable!

"I've bought drugs for years from pharmstore.com in Winnipeg ... . They have a great website that will let you shop for drugs. I get two expensive medications for only 20 percent or less of what American sources charge. ... If you let them take the charges directly out of your checking account, they give you an additional 5 percent discount. One of the ways we can save with them is that they sell some generic drugs that are not available in the U.S. since Big Pharma hangs onto patents for as long as they possibly can so they can continue charging high prices, which they keep upping!

"Big Pharma loves capitalism! We consumers can play that game, too. We have choice! The only way we citizens can ever get relief is to take matters into our own hands and quit paying the outrageous drug prices here. Our legislators will never come to our aid because Big Pharma owns them! Keep getting the word out!"

Carol, who worked for the Veterans Administration as an RN and retired in 1997, sent this message: "As I understood it, our department heads and pharmaceutical reps gathered periodically to determine what would go in our hospital's formulary. At that time the VA decided what they would pay for the drug. The resident would fill out a special request if the patient needed a specific drug that was not in the formulary. As a result many of our meds were not exorbitant.

"One of the meds was Synthroid. This drug has been around for years and is a common drug for older women. In 1996 our hospital paid [1 cent] for a tablet, 90 cents for 90 days. It infuriates me to see my online pharmacy ... saying it will cost over $50 for my 90 tablets. I used to call them and complain. They always said your bill will only be $12.90 because of your type of insurance.

"What really gets my goat is that women without my insurance must be paying the higher number. I am writing because of your comment [about centralized advisory boards]. I once mentioned the above to Blanche Lincoln but to no avail. There is no reason why Medicare does not have advisory boards like those other governments and our [VA hospital] did. Think of the money that would be saved if our politicians did not feel obligated to the drug companies. Thanks for giving me an opportunity to vent."

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Mike Masterson is a longtime Arkansas journalist. Email him at mmasterson@arkansasonline.com.

Editorial on 06/24/2017

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