Wednesday, September 03, 2003

From Knight-Ridder Washington Bureau:
Drug companies curbing sales from Canadian pharmacies to U.S. consumers
Canadian Internet pharmacies that sell discounted prescription drugs to U.S. consumers are struggling to find new suppliers in response to tough new sales restrictions imposed by major drug companies.

Said Michael Gluck, an associate professor at the Health Policy Institute at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.: "We are the largest market in the world (without price controls) and drug companies have strong financial incentives for making sure American customers buy at American prices."

From the Denver Post:
Worries over Canada drugs all about cash
David Hill seems healthy, which to hear America's drug industry tell it, is a medical miracle. Hill, you see, grew up in Canada. He spent his youth taking all those cheap, dangerous Canadian prescription medicines.

You know those drugs. They're the drugs that cost so much less in Canada than the same medications sold in this country. They're the drugs that U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturers, pharmacists and politicians disparage.

From the Kansas City Channel.com:
Local Company Offers Prescription Drugs At Big Discounts
A new Kansas company is offering prescriptions at a big discount, but some are concerned about the safety of the drugs, KMBC's Maria Antonia reported.

The company, called Canada Drug Services of Kansas, fills doctors' prescriptions at Canadian pharmacies, which mail the medicines directly to the consumer. Company founder Dan Ice said his customers save about 50 percent of what they would spend buying their drugs in the United States.

From Black Mountain News (NC):
Imported prescriptions may not be safe
More and more senior citizens are heading south and north to save money on prescription drugs.

From the Poughkeepsie (NY) Journal:
Plan would save money on prescriptions
Citing a survey that suggests Americans could save nearly 40 percent on prescription drugs if they bought them from Canada, Sen. Charles Schumer promised a group of local senior citizens Tuesday he would push to allow those drugs to be re-imported to the United States.

From USA Today:
Many don't see the benefit of prescription-drug bills
Like many of her friends, 71-year-old Claire Krulik has carefully calculated what she spends on prescription medicines and how much help she can expect if Congress agrees to add drug coverage to Medicare.

Her stark conclusion: She would be better off without either of the dueling plans facing the House and Senate this fall. Both include a complicated array of premiums, deductibles, co-payments and gaps in coverage. Krulik, who takes medicines for diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma and other ailments, gets her drugs from Canada, where they cost up to 50% less. "For me, it wouldn't be worthwhile," she says of the potentially historic drug-benefit legislation moving through Congress. "I'd still be better off getting my medications from Canada."

From the Oakland County (MI) Press:
Pharmacy helps consumers with drug costs
Karen Hawley saved $90 on her prescription drugs this month, and she didn't have to drive to Canada or take her chances with an Internet site.

White Lake Pharmacy on Highland Road started a new program this month to help consumers buy less expensive drugs from Canada.

From the Regina Leader-Post:
Druggists can prescribe morning-after pills
Saskatchewan women can now get the morning-after pill without waiting to see their doctor.

The provincial government made changes Monday allowing pharmacists to prescribe and dispense the emergency contraceptive pill. Prescriptions will continue to be available from doctors, as well.

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