The Affordable Care Act was designed to strengthen the Medicare Part D program and ensure that it will continue to provide health security to seniors for many years to come. The Act proposes to reduce Part D enrollees’ out-of-pocket costs when they reach the coverage gap, commonly referred to as the “doughnut hole.” The Medicare Part D “doughnut hole” has provided difficulties to cash strapped Americans, who need help to pay for life saving medications since the inception of the program. Often the coverage gap affects a patient when financial help and prescriptions are needed the most. Read more
Canadian Pharmacy Advocate, PayingthePrice.org, awarded Outstanding Achievement in Website Development by the 2011 Interactive Media Awards™.
PayingthePrice.org has been awarded Outstanding Achievement in Website Development by the 2011 Interactive Media Awards™. The honor recognizes that the website met and surpassed the standards of excellence that comprise the web’s most professional work. PayingthePrice.org was honored specifically for excellence in Advocacy.
The judging consisted of various criteria, including:
In order to win this award level, the site had to meet strict guidelines in each area — an achievement only a fraction of sites in the IMA competition earn each quarter.
Paying the Price is an advocacy movement dedicated to educating patients, lawmakers and journalists about the crisis facing millions of Americans each year – the high price of prescription drugs.
PayingthePrice.org is sponsored by Jan Drugs, a licensed and regulated, brick-and-mortar Canadian Pharmacy.
PayingthePrice.org’s mission is to explore how high cost prescription drugs put millions of Americans at risk everyday.
PayingthePrice.org gives visitors the knowledge to understand the prescription drug cost crisis and the tools to spread the word and help make a change.
You can view the Interactive Media Award here.
PayingthePrice.org has been awarded the 2011 WebAward for Outstanding Achievement in Web Development by the Web Marketing Association. PayingThePrice.org is sponsored by Jan Drugs, a leading online Canadian pharmacy.
It was announced today that PayingthePrice.org has been awarded the 2011 WebAward for Outstanding Achievement in Web Development by the Web Marketing Association. The honor recognizes that the website met and surpassed the basic standards of excellence that comprise the web’s most professional work. The site was honored specifically for excellence in Advocacy.
Independent expert judges from around the world reviewed sites in 96 industries. The best were recognized with a WebAward. The judging consisted of various criteria, including design, usability, innovation in technical features, standards compliance and content.
Paying the Price is an advocacy movement dedicated to educating patients, lawmakers and journalists about the crisis facing millions of Americans each year – the high price of prescription drugs.
PayingthePrice.org is sponsored by Jan Drugs, a licensed and regulated, brick-and-mortar Canadian Pharmacy. The website’s mission is to explore how the high price of prescription drugs places millions of Americans at risk everyday. PayingthePrice.org gives visitors the knowledge to understand the prescription drug cost crisis and the tools to spread the word and help make a change.
You can view the 2011 WebAward here.
The following article originally appeared on www.techdirt.com on September 1, 2011 by posted Mike Masnick. The piece features on open letter to Google written by Jan Drugs president David Janeson, in which he weighs in on Google’s policy change regarding AdWords advertising for online Canadian Pharmacies.
Canadian Pharmacies React To US Gov’t Taking $500 Million From Google Over Their Ads
from the this-doesn’t-help-keep-people-safe dept
While the Justice Department spun the taking of $500 million from Google as an important step in “protecting Americans,” the reality appears to be that it’s doing exactly the opposite. While there certainly may be some online pharmacies that sell fake and fraudulent (and potentially dangerous) drugs, the government is conveniently conflating those scammers with legitimate drugs reimported to the US as gray market imports. Those are still legitimate drugs, but are just more reasonably priced. In such cases, a very strong argument can be made for the fact that these drugs do a ton to “protect Americans” by allowing them to stay healthy at a more reasonable price. This is why President Obama repeatedly claimed that he was in favor of reimportation and why there’s a bill going through Congress, as we speak, to allow more of it. So, it still makes no sense why the administration — which officially supports greater reimportation — would go after Google because some pharmacies used reimportation.
But even more to the point, the Canadian pharmacies — who, again, were selling legitimate versions of these drugs — are reasonably annoyed about the whole thing, and are noting that the real harm will come to Americans who can no longer get safe and affordable drugs. In fact, they may now be pushed to go to much more questionable pharmacy operations since Google will no longer point them to those who had been certified. The President of one of those pharmacies, Jan Drugs, has been passing around this open letter to Google:
I am David Janeson, President of Jan Drugs. Jandrugs.com, based in Winnipeg, Canada, is a brick-and -mortar regulated and licensed pharmacy and fills prescriptions for Americans from Canada and other countries. We advertised with Google Adwords, and some small percentage of the money that you are now forfeiting to the U.S. Department of Justice is due to the money we spent to advertise with you. We provide a valuable service to our patients, and Google by allowing us to advertise, helped many Americans obtain the prescriptions they require at prices they can better afford. Many of our customers first found us through a Google ad. Jan Drugs is blessed to have had over 100,000 American customers order from us over the years. Our customers universally have ordered medicines from us because they were prescribed a prescription drug that they found prohibitively expensive in the US. Jan Drugs is proud that we have helped many peoples lives by helping them find the prescription drugs they need at prices they can afford. Jan Drugs sells medications for conditions including depression, heart disease, high cholesterol, diabetes, cancer and epilepsy. Jan Drugs and it’s customers take the position that it is ridiculous to accept that uninsured or underinsured Americans should be expected to pay higher prices than everywhere else in the world. When Google first cancelled our advertising account we were disappointed. We believed that Google’s existing pharmacy verification program should have been strengthened rather than cancelled and that the end of the verification program made the internet a more dangerous place for Americans to find their needed medications. Our pharmacy willingly participated in Google’s chosen certification program, PharmacyChecker, which was required for Jan Drugs to advertise the sale of non-controlled prescription drugs through AdWords to U.S. consumers. Now that we see that Google has paid a very large forfeiture, partly for accepting advertising for companies like Jan Drugs, we understand why you took the position you did. Jan Drugs believes that access to reliable and affordable medication is a right. We and companies like Jan Drugs have helped millions of Americans save on their prescription medications over the internet in the same way as if they had personally visited us in Canada. Google should be proud of its’ previous efforts to make the internet a safer place to purchase medications as millions have benefited and Jan Drugs believes that Google being fined is against the interests of Americans and morally wrong. Thank you and kind regards, David Janeson and the Jan Drugs teamDear Google,
250-530 Kenaston Blvd.
Winnipeg MB R3N 1Z4
Canada
Indeed, it’s somewhat surprising that more Americans who rely on such things haven’t spoken up about this effort by the US government which now puts them in much greater danger, either from being unable to afford the drugs they need to stay alive or by leading them to order from much less trustworthy sources.
U.S. regulatory pressure to halt Google AdWords advertising relating to non-U.S. pharmaceutical sales may inadvertently allow U.S. patients more exposure to rogue pharmacies via Google’s organic search engine listings.
“This forfeiture was meant to be a penalty to Google and a warning to other like companies,” states Emmett Murphy, spokesperson for PayingthePrice.org. The U.S. Department of Justice Deputy Attorney General Cole seems intent on penalizing companies, stating that it may “put at risk the health and safety of American consumers.” Unfortunately, the outcome may have had a reverse effect by allowing rogue pharmacies a clearer playing field in Google’s non-paid search engine results.
PayingthePrice.org is sponsored by Jan Drugs, a licensed and regulated, brick-and-mortar Canadian Pharmacy. “Jan Drugs supported further Google AdWords oversight and an aggressive expansion of the AdWords certification program, rather than its elimination,” notes Murphy. He asserts, “Jan Drugs willingly participated in Google’s chosen certification program, PharmacyChecker, which was required by Google to advertise the sale of non-controlled prescription drugs through AdWords to U.S. consumers.”
Since March 2010, when Google appointed VIPPS with the responsibility to certify online pharmacies primarily based on the qualification of being located within the U.S., all non-U.S. Google AdWords advertising relating to pharmaceutical sales was halted. “This may have inadvertently leveled the playing field of Google’s organic listings to favor rogue pharmacies with an established Google presence over search results of regulated and licensed ‘brick-and-mortar’ Canadian pharmacies, like Jan Drugs. In essence, this policy change may have put the interest of the American consumer at a disadvantage by making it more difficult for them to locate safe, affordable drugs from Canada,” Murphy points out.
“Removing U.S. patient access to safe and affordable maintenance medications from Canada will not remove patient need,” states Murphy.
Large corporations like Google are working against American consumers by prohibiting licensed pharmacies abroad from advertising to U.S. consumers on its search engine, limiting their access to safe, affordable medication.
In February 2010, Google instituted a policy restricting licensed international pharmacies from advertising to U.S consumers.
Google requires that pharmacies wishing to advertise using AdWords be accredited by verifying organizations – the National Association Boards of Pharmacy VIPPS program in the United States and the Canadian International Pharmacy Association (CIPA) in Canada – and only display ads within their country’s borders.
Google policy restricts licensed international pharmacies from advertising to U.S consumers, in essence blocking American’s from more affordable alternatives to high cost prescription medication.
photo credit: allaboutgeorge
Many Americans cannot afford to pay for their high cost prescription medications at U.S. pharmacies and purchase drugs from licensed and regulated Canadian pharmacies.
Brand-name pharmaceuticals, such as Lipitor and Nexium, are often half the price in Canada than they are in the United States.
Google’s aggressive policy, which has the support of the Food and Drug Administration, restricts Americans’ access to legitimate markets abroad, shrinking marketplace competition.
This policy also has the unintended effect of allowing illegal and grossly negligent pharmacies to distribute their drugs online via “organic links.”
The rogue pharmacies’ sites crop up in search results that would otherwise bring up legitimate pharmacies, creating further hurdles for U.S. consumers seeking to buy safe and affordable medications abroad.
Lawmakers recently proposed legislation that would eliminate your options for affordable medications.
Lawmakers recently proposed legislation that would allow government regulators to more easily crack down on illegal pharmacy sites that sell fake medications without a prescription, but the bill could shut down access to critical drug markets abroad.
The bill, Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011 (S. 968), also known as the Protect IP Act, would create governmental control of websites that are deemed to sell “counterfeit medications.”
However, the bill also threatens to take away Americans’ rights to safe, affordable medications by blocking access to licensed and regulated pharmacies outside of the U.S. that require a prescription.
Section 5 of the bill defines licensed, regulated online international pharmacies as “infringing sites” that sell medications not manufactured in a facility approved by the FDA.
Reputable pharmacies in other countries like Canada, the UK, and Australia sell medications manufactured by the same name-brand companies as those in the United States, and their drugs are approved by the regulatory authorities in their respective countries. Nevertheless, these facilities remain unapproved by the FDA.
A large population of Americans cannot afford to pay for their high cost prescription medications at U.S. pharmacies and depend on licensed and regulated Canadian pharmacies to fill their prescriptions.
By blocking American consumers’ access to legitimate international pharmacies, the bill has the unintended consequence of carving a space for illegal pharmacies to create sham online stores while legitimate marketplaces are banned.
The Protect IP Act endangers American consumers’ right to research freely online to find safe, affordable medication.
S. 968 was recently passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee and is likely to be passed in the Senate.
The bill has been introduced into the Senate, but it is currently being blocked by Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon. Senator Wyden does not support the measure, saying that it would be “hard to consider legislation that would give the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security additional authorities to combat online content infringement.”
A legislative process called “cloture” – a vote by 60 senators – can end the block placed by Senator Wyden.
There is still time to fight back against this legislation, and have your voice heard.
Click on the button below – and tell your senator to vote against the Protect IP Act today.
Faced with a difficult situation — the rising cost of prescription drugs, an uncertain regulatory environment, an aggressive and powerful drug lobby — American consumers are forced to make risky choices that could have a disastrous impact on their health.
Patients are putting themselves at risk by engaging in unsafe practices in order to save money and cut prescription costs.
Patients are putting their own health at risk in an effort to lower prescription costs.
Unable to afford the high cost of medicine, patients are resorting to unsafe practices such as:
All of the risks are taking in an effort to cut prescription costs.
Many engage in pill splitting without taking into account risks. Some drugs cannot be split safely, including extended time-release and capsule medications.
Some medications do not have a clear midline, or crumble or have coating that peels easily.
Some pill coatings must remain intact to ensure the integrity of the medication.
Patients engaging in unsafe pill splitting may take incorrect dosages, which could have adverse side effects. Patients can also lose or contaminate their medication.
Ideally, American consumers would be able to afford the lifesaving medicine they need.
PayingthePrice.org explores why American consumers are left footing the bill for expensive drugs and making sacrifices due to the high cost of drugs when safe, affordable medicines are available to them abroad.
The health care reform bill, or Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which passed in March 2010, was designed to help bring down the cost of health care, but its impact on drug prices is still unclear.
Many provisions of the law do not go into effect for several years, and the effect the law will have on prescription drug prices, especially in the short term, is unknown.
The health care reform bill results in uncertain prescription medication prices in the future.
Several changes have been proposed to the law, adding further uncertainty to the future of health care and medication prices.
In January 2011, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 245-189 to repeal the health care law. Three Democrats joined all 242 Republicans in favor of repeal. Though the measure has little prospect of passing in the Senate, its passage illustrated the deep divisions in health care reform.
The law seeks to close the gap in Medicare prescription drug coverage (Medicare Part D), called the donut hole. Under the previous health care system, once a Medicare beneficiary spent $2,700 on covered medical costs in a year, the patient was forced to pay for all medical expenses out of pocket until expenses exceeded more than $6,100.
In 2010, the government began sending $250 rebate checks for Medicare beneficiaries in the coverage gap, but the costs of prescription drugs for many Americans greatly exceeds the rebate amount. The law aims to close the donut hole by 2020.
The primary reason why Americans use Canadian pharmacies is because they have fallen into the Medicare Part D donut hole and need an affordable option to purchase drugs until their Medicare plan kicks back in.
But the bill’s plan to shrink and eventually close the donut hole is threatened by efforts to repeal and change the health care law.
Republican lawmakers are seeking to dismantle the health care reform bill by advancing a series of bills targeting programs contained in the legislation.
As uncertainties surrounding the new law persist, Americans need to have secure access to affordable drug markets abroad. Working against the best interests of U.S. consumers, the federal government and corporations are actively restricting access to lower prescription costs.
Right now, four in 10 Americans have trouble affording their high cost prescription drugs, according to a 2008 study by the Harvard School of Public Health.
And with 2 out of 3 visits to the doctor’s office ending with a prescription being written or renewed, and the average senior American filling more than 22 prescriptions each year, the problem of rising prescription costs cannot be ignored.
The high cost of prescription drugs is the number one cited factor for why people do not adhere to doctors’ instructions for taking medication, according to the University of Chicago.
In fact, many patients resort to engaging in risky and even dangerous practices, such as:
Despite their doctor's warnings, many Americans are cutting corners in order to afford their high cost prescription drugs.
Or worse – many patients are simply going without the potentially life saving prescription medication they need in order to cut costs.
These are risks that could be easily avoided IF medication and high cost prescription drugs were simply more affordable.
American consumers pay up to twice as much for the same prescription drugs as citizens of other industrialized countries, and prices continue to skyrocket. The massive drug lobby works closely with those in Washington, seeking wider profit margins, while politicians cater to powerful pharmaceutical interests, doing little to assuage the price problem for consumers.
The federal government passed health care reform legislation in March 2010, which was designed to reduce the burden of healthcare costs, but the impact of the bill on prescription drug prices remains unknown, especially in the short term.
So the problem of high prescription cost and drug prices falls to American consumers, who have the most to lose in the equation.
One in 10 people take expired medication. Almost 20 percent do not fill prescriptions, and one-third do not take drugs prescribed to them at all. In 2010, 10 million people shared a prescription with someone else in order to save money.
Are you or your loved ones Paying the Price for the government and the pharmaceutical industry’s failure to solve the problem of high cost prescription and rising drug prices.
How Online Pharmacies Can Help You Overcome High Prescription Drug Costs & Provide Help With Prescriptions
If you’re like millions of Americans, you’re searching for ways to afford the medications you or your family members need.
Thankfully, many online pharmacies provide cost-effective medications for people needing financial help with prescriptions. Read more
Prescription Assistance Helps Victims During Natural Disasters
Tornados, floods, earthquakes and hurricanes can change lives in an instant.
If you’re the victim of a natural disaster, this can be an especially frightening time if you’re suddenly without access the prescription medications you need.
Prescription Assistance Programs provide low, or no, cost prescription medications to victims of natural disaster.
Prescription assistance programs are able to help, as many organizations now provide a disaster relief form to help uninsured and financially struggling victims of natural disasters expedite their applications for information on programs that provide prescriptions for little or no cost.
Also, the often sends its “Help is Here Express,” a bus that works as a traveling enrollment center, to the communities that have been affected by natural disasters.
With many prescription assistance programs, there is no cost to see if you or your family qualify for help.
When applying, you will need to provide your age, state of residence and zip code, estimated gross annual household income, number of people living in your household, name of prescription medicines you or family members are currently taking or have been prescribed, and, if applicable, the type of health insurance and/or prescription coverage you have.
Participating programs provide more than 2,500 brand-name and generic medicines.
An Inside Look At How You Can Save Money on Medications By Using the Pharmacy Discount Network Savings Card.
U.S. Census Bureau: Roughly 47 million people in the United States lack health insurance, and another 40 million have inadequate health insurance.
Recent statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau show that roughly 47 million people in the United States lack health insurance, and another 40 million have inadequate health insurance. This means that nearly 33 percent of Americans live without the security of knowing that medical is available to them and their families if and when they need it.
For those who are uninsured or underinsured, the Pharmacy Discount Network can be a huge relief. Read more
Now Parents Can Get Discount Prescription Medications for Your Kids with a Pharmacy Discount Card
Recent statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau show a scary trend:
Nearly one if four American parents with health insurance reported that their coverage was so inadequate they were unable to access the medical care their children needed.
Nearly one if four American parents with health insurance reported that their coverage was so inadequate they were unable to access the medical care their children needed.
This is in addition to the nearly 47 million Americans without any sort of health insurance for them or their children.
If you’re one of these parents that are struggling to make ends meet, you can at least get help paying for your child’s prescriptions with a pharmacy discount card. Read more
As the Number of Underinsured Americans Continues to Soar… Prescription Assistance Programs Gain Popularity.
As the economy continues to struggle, many Americans are faced with the question of how to cover Prescription Drug Costs. Luckily, Prescription Assistance Programs can ease the financial pain.
As skyrocketing medical costs have pushed insurance premiums and out-of-pocket expenses higher and higher, millions of Americans – even those who have health insurance – are finding that they can’t afford healthcare costs.
Researchers consider people underinsured if they spent more than 10 percent of their income on out-of-pocket medical expenses (or 5 percent if they’re considered low-income) or have deductibles equaling at least 5 percent of their income.
If you’re one of the estimated 25 million Americans who are considered underinsured, you may find much-needed help through prescription assistance programs. Read more
Prescription Savings Programs and Comparison Shopping Can Ease the Burden of Medical Costs
Many drug companies and independent organizations offer prescription savings programs for people who are uninsured or underinsured. These type of programs help you save on medications that are purchased at a traditional pharmacy or those that are mailed directly to you from an online pharmacy. Read more
Lawmakers Debating Changes to Medicare Coverage and Prescription Assistance for Seniors
Lawmakers in Washington, D.C., have long been debating changes to our healthcare system, including Medicare. Recent news shows’ questions on how much – or how little – Congress will rework the Medicare program and its prescription assistance for the millions of senior citizens who use it to control the costs of their medications. Read more
While the United States economy continues to struggle – Medication Assistance and Prescription Help in Available.
Companies Extending Medication Assistance to Those Affected by the Recession
While the economic crisis throughout the United States still lingers, there are now more than 100 million Americans who either can’t afford or are struggling to afford their prescription medications. In this time of concern over health insurance coverage and the level of that coverage, more and more companies are offering medication assistance programs.
Approximately 80 percent of pharmaceutical manufacturers provide medication assistance for drugs prescribed for common health concerns.
This provides medication assistance for health issues such as like diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis and cancer.
If you qualify for medication assistance through these programs, many pharmaceutical companies will give you your medications for free or deeply discounted rates.
Be On the Lookout for Fraudulent Companies Charging a fee for Information on Free Prescriptions.
You’ve likely seen the late-night infomercials or received emails urging you to “call or click here now for free prescriptions.”
These types of ads could be operated by fraudulent companies, so beware. Read more
Do you need Free Prescription help to cover the cost of medication? Here’s a few tips to help you overcome the prescription costs associated with keeping your children healthy and well. Read more
The news articles listed below have been provided via outside news agencies and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Paying the Price or it's sponsor.
Google News Reports: Prescription Drugs News Google News Reports: Reduce Prescription Drugs Costs
