With Washington stalled on a plan to provide a Medicare prescription-drug benefit, patients like Pickstone are taking matters into their own hands. It’s technically illegal to import drugs from other countries, but U.S. authorities have made exceptions for “personal use.” Nearby Canada makes an inviting shopping ground. Because the Canadian government buys drugs in bulk, it can negotiate better prices from U.S. drugmakers. And today’s favorable exchange rate helps, too: Yankees typically save 30 percent to 50 percent. “We really are being ripped off,” says Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, who cites drug costs as the fastest-growing item in the state budget and has encouraged Vermonters to buy drugs from Canada. This week Congress will hold hearings on “reimportation” of American-made drugs from Canada. “You can get beef from Canada, but not prescription drugs,” says Vermont Rep. Bernie Sanders. His plan would allow U.S. pharmacies to order drugs from Canada–savings they could pass to patients.
For the past few years, bands of renegade shoppers have piled onto buses to stock up on meds over the border. But programs like MedicineAssist mean shoppers anywhere can save. Patients visit unitedhealthalliance.com, fill out a brief medical history and an order form, and fax them–along with a doctor’s prescription–to the Canadian pharmacy. A Canadian doctor reviews the paperwork and writes a Canadian prescription. The drugs are then shipped directly to the patient’s house in the States. The savings can be huge, says United Health Alliance CEO Elizabeth Wennar. The first 145 people who used the program would have spent $81,000; through MedicineAssist, they paid just more than $22,000. Wennar says thousands of patients in all 50 states have logged on, but she won’t tally exactly how many for fear that authorities will shut down the program if it grows too large.
She may have reason to worry. The American drug lobby opposes reimportation, citing safety concerns. Though the Food and Drug Administration hasn’t stopped bus trips–“There’s the practical reality of snatching drugs out of some little old lady’s purse,” says FDA senior associate commissioner William Hubbard–the mail-order business is much larger. The FDA says it cannot ensure the safety of all those drugs, and this week will ask Congress to end cross-border drug mailings. But with no agreement on a Medicare drug benefit, Congress may not slam the door on an affordable alternative.
