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Pharmaceutical corporations appear to have a stranglehold on prescription drug users and it is evident that changes are necessary. Fortunately, there are some alternatives to high prescription prices. While high drug prices are still frustrating consumers, buying from foreign countries and the current changes in Medicare coverage give consumers a chance to better manage the financial aspects of their health care. Senior citizens as well as other prescription users are now crossing U.S. borders to buy their drugs, predominately from Canada. U.S. consumer’s purchase between $700 and $800 million worth of drugs per year from Internet pharmacies outside U.S borders (Abboud D1). Sales by U.S. consumers from foreign Internet pharmacies will grow to an estimated 5 million prescriptions this year from 2 million last year. The reason for this huge increase is that prescription drugs average 40 percent cheaper in Canada than in the U.S. (Abboud D1). The Congressional Budget Office estimates Americans could possibly save up to $40 billion a year by purchasing their prescriptions from Canada (Harper 2). Canadian drug prices are lower because the Patent Medicine Prices Review Board sets prices for each patent medicine placed on the Canadian market. The price is set after comparing to seven other countries: The United States, Britain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and Italy (Harper 3). Ben Ezra, a 77-year old man from Springfield, Massachusetts, is in the middle of a grassroots initiative to get cheaper prices for prescription drugs (Harper 1).
Approximate Word count = 924
Approximate Pages = 3.7
(250 words per page double spaced)
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